


Coping

by TheFuzzBuzz



Category: X-Men, X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, Gen, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2020-10-20 23:07:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20683451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFuzzBuzz/pseuds/TheFuzzBuzz
Summary: What if I just took the XMenEvo canon and messed it up with an OC? This is the result. Following the XME timeline, comic events will drop in later. I hope you enjoy (:





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, and also unironically is helping me COPE with MaDD, so party hard. If you have any questions or literally any encouragement, please, please, drop it below.

A young mutant sat back reluctantly, opting to focus on the brunette braid forming nicely from her fingertips and the pieces of hair that framed her rounded face instead of the bald head of Charles Xavier in front of her.

“I don’t get why I’m the one that has to introduce the new guy. You want me to tutor him _and_ get him comfortable at the institute, even though I have the worst track record with new people?”

“Scott and Jean have been our _only_ new people. I believe you can help him feel relaxed in this new environment. Consider it a control exercise. What’s the use of being an empath if you can’t help a student in a new school?” He gestured towards her, palms up with an offer she would most likely deny.

“If anything, he’s just gonna make me nervous. Jean’s pretty welcoming, make her do it.”

“I’m asking you to do it, Elaina. You’re also the only one that can communicate with him.”

“I would rather die than acclimate a 15-year-old to being a mutant.”

“He’s familiar with being a mutant. As a matter of fact, he’s been one his entire life… He may intrigue you.”

“He was born with powers?” She sat forward and slapped her hands onto the desk; the braid sticking straight out, beginning to unravel.

“Something like that. There’s no point in me telling you more since you don’t want anything to do with him.”

The professor turned his chair, smirking, knowing he had piqued her interest and she was millimeters from accepting the task. She deliberated her options: let the old man win and have a metric shitload of work to do or not have work to do but approach the new student on her own.

“I’ll do it. But you need to tell me what’s up with him. Like soon. Or you’ll lose me.”

“Alright then. I’ll give you a small rundown, the rest will come after you start working with him, should you decide to ‘bounce’ on this assignment.” He punctuated the slang he knew Elaina used so frequently. It was important to keep a lighter, more comical atmosphere when calling her out in such a way. “Our new student was born with what some consider to be physical mutations. It has identified him as a mutant from the beginning. As a result, he is behind socially, academically, and medically. The poor kid is going to need quite a few needles upon his arrival. That should suffice for what you need to know right now.”

He turned fully this time and wheeled past her, not daring to hide his smile. He won this round. Elaina scrunched her face and knew that pressing the matter wouldn’t change much. His arrival was T-Minus 12 days out, and she could handle waiting to find out what “physical mutation” meant.

“Follow me, please. I’ll give you resources _now_, so you don’t have any room for excuses later.” She padded softly behind him; her features settled into their usual arrangement: eyebrows pinched, lips downturned, and a vacant glare. They turned into the library of the institute, and the professor began pulling various textbooks off the shelves.

“Here, I’ll hold them, you need your arms.” She leaned backward to balance and watched each book pass her eye line. “If you can like telepath some English in there, why can’t you just telepath some of all this stuff anyway?” She snatched two English books from his lap and added them to the growing literature. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t question her actions.

“It’s a stressful process on the ol' brain. Besides, people recall the learning process before they properly store information. He’ll probably need some introductions to mid-level algebra as well as the sciences and American history. I’m sure his parents have at least started a foundation for his understandings, but the deeper topics will need to be covered. Should you need any help, I’m always available.” He ended each subject with a textbook added to each stack and then two more once he finished his offer to assist them. He eyed her, carefully balancing the books with her chin. ”I can go with you to your room and carry a few. It’s the least I could do since you’ve taken on such a major project.” He pulled some of the books off and worked towards the nearest elevator.

“Now, I know you’re gonna look in there, but don’t freak, I’m planning on cleaning tomorrow. I had a full weekend so it’s all a mess.”

He opened the door with one hand and wheeled back to let her walk in first. Squinting into the darkness, he saw curtains fluttering in the light wind and humid air met his face. Elaina smiled at him and walked in as if she were trudging through snow. Clothes rose up around her ankles and she plopped the books down onto her bed. They threatened to fall onto her toes, and she jumped backward.

“I made a little path if you wanna come in.”

She bent down and scooped the accumulated clothes into her arms, throwing them around the laundry hamper. The clothes that missed caused a few half-filled water bottles to tumble onto the floor. She sighed and took the books from Xavier’s lap. She spread them out and began organizing by size and subject, lining spines and bottoms. She took each small stack to her desk and set them down on the edge. In a single motion, she pushed all the desk’s mess sideways onto the floor and aligned the books with exacting detail. She peered down at the cluttered floor and shrugged once again.

“That’s a tomorrow problem.” She turned to the professor, who had taken to leaning on his hand, face smushed just a little, relaxed in watching her confusing antics.

“I’ll be sure to stop by later on to see the progress you’ve made on this pigsty.”

“The desk is clean. I’ve refocused my academics in one fell swoop.” She tumbled onto her bed and sat up looking around the room. The quick rambling began, and Charles struggled to keep up without reading her mind. “I think I might rearrange my room too. This set up is stale.” She scrunched her nose. “The bed being on the diagonal kinda interrupts the flow from the balcony. It looks good, but in practice, not so cool. I think if I move it to the far corner and move my bookshelf into this spot, but on the ninety degrees from the angle, and then put my desk against the wall, it’ll look much better. Then I can move the bean bag into the little cranny, it’ll be nice for reading.” She pointed as she spoke, taking the time to check to see if he was watching her motions. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with my dresser. It’ll be fine though.” She paused and waited for a response. He only smiled back; his eyes crinkled. It was rare to see such a smile from him, only for his most fond family members. She sucked her lip and peered around the room.

“So, earlier. You said ‘physical mutation’ but I’m not so sure what that means. Like I know what it means, but what does it mean to him. What’s he got going on?” She leaned slightly, begging the answer to her question.

“I was waiting _so_ patiently for this question. Our newest student is a bit ‘otherworldly’ we’ll say. I won’t reveal too much, but it involves an extra appendage, a new color scheme, and he might enjoy chillier climates more than the rest of us. That’s all I’m giving you.”

“Really, now? That’s it? You’re not even gonna like tell me what kind of appendage?” He shook his head at her response and turned to leave. “I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t stay up too late.”

He closed her door behind him, but not before giving the room a once over again. Once she was alone, Elaina stared into the vanity above her dresser. What counts as an appendage? He only said one, so it’s not like he has an extra set of arms. Maybe one added arm? Are dicks appendages? She shook the thought away, Xavier wouldn’t have told her that if it were the case. She decided that if she had any extra body parts, it would have to be antennae, maybe then she wouldn’t have to strain so much to use her powers. She began imagining what other possibilities she might be seeing in this fresh face, replacing her own body with some various alterations.

Her mind’s eye was relatively exercised, but she fell into just examining her own body. A few bruises ticked her upper thighs, some just barely poking out from her pajama shorts. Her hips had always been a problem for her, she hadn’t quite figured out where they stopped and often bumped them on various furniture. She flexed her legs and examined the toned muscle. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was the muscle she had packed on over the summer.

The method was questionable, but Logan’s idea of stress relief did wonders for her mentality and her body, even if it meant late nights running danger room sims and a few busted knuckles in the weight room. It wouldn’t do anything for her stature, however. She pulled off her bra and stripped the shorts off. It had been a long time since she felt tired at this hour but would jump at the chance to maybe have a decent sleeping schedule. She reached out to the lamp and tried to relinquish some of her leftover energy into it. It burned brighter for a few seconds, and then popped at her shiver in the breeze.

* * *

Elaina awoke to a telepathic message creeping into her head. It wasn’t so loud that it startled her, it was like a gentle voice throwing out the fact that it was indeed nearing 1 pm. She rolled out of bed, immediately regretting the decision after remembering the beating she took in the previous day’s training session and late-night party. Excursions in the danger room were usually nicer to her, but the professor insisted that the danger room was a better place to explore some facets of her powers. Parties were never nice to her. She slumped around her room in the darkness before peeking out between the curtains. It _really_ was high noon and she _really_ slept in that much. She allowed the sunlight into her room, felt it radiating into her skin, and piercing her pupils. The balcony doors were thrown open and she plopped down at her desk. After looking over pre-algebra expressions for a fraction of a second, she slammed the book shut. Her want to prepare was overcome with the agitated, discontent energy she had woken up with. Algebra would have to wait. Instead, she went to picking up her clothes from the previous day and set them into the hamper. This time, she would be diligent in keeping her room tidy. Hopefully.

The second order of business was that she was in no shape to exit her room anytime soon, and her stomach was prepping to sound the trumpets. She sat on her bed, staring at the wardrobe before her. It had a few suits, which she wouldn’t be caught dead in on a Saturday. She had some outfits picked out for the next week of school that was intended to lift her mood and keep her hair out of a bun for minimally two days. Such outfits included a black crop top embellished with a silver logo, set with a pair of blue jeans, a newer band tee that paired well with white jeans, and her all-time favorite outfit, a plain white tee, rusty flannel, and denim jacket combo. She didn’t care much about which pants she wore with it, but usually settled on khakis. For that lazy day, she chose to throw on grey sweats and a t-shirt she had stolen from Scott months before.

She strode down the hallway and felt her stomach start to let her know just how upset it was. She didn’t feel like she would puke, but it wasn’t so farfetched just yet. Propping herself against the wall in the nearest bathroom, she took in her appearance and hoped that the drastic change had occurred overnight, post party shenanigans. Smeared makeup, a rat’s nest on her head, and a telltale bruise just underneath her jawbone. Trevor had always been a decent guy, very consistent with his customers and it just so happened that Elaina didn’t hate him. Indulging oneself on a guy that had no intention of a relationship but good deals on addictive substances was almost expected of her. She bent down to try to scrub the remnants of the night off her face, only doing so partially, leaving the bags under eyes a tinge darker. She opted out of brushing her hair and instead threw the just-nearing-grimy locks into a messy bun atop her head. This appearance was good enough. The directionless quest for food and water was now underway.

“Come on, Jean! We’re gonna be late!” Scott called through the hallways, spurring only himself. Jean waved him off and came out a bathroom down one of the adjacent hallways. They both turned and eyed Elaina almost as if she had still been completely plastered, crossfaded, and had a teenager stuck to her neck.

“Eventful night?” Scott quipped.

“Not _nearly_ as eventful as yours, Mr. Balls. As soon as you blew the game, everyone and their probation officers were at the Skids trying to do as many shots as they could before the fire was out at the school. The cops must have been tired after that because they didn’t show. What happened anyway?”

“Todd Tolansky got himself into some Duncan trouble and I wasn't about to let it slide. Did you even sleep? You look like you rolled out of a trash can and into this hallway.”

“Scott! That’s so mean—but, uh, it’s kinda true.” Jean scolded him only partially.

“Nah, I slept like somewhat, as far as I know. I woke up in a bed, which is like the minimum requirement.”

“The professor is gonna grind you into bits, you know that, right?” Scott peered at her through his fancy glasses.

“Why? For underage drinking? For breaking curfew? It’s old news, maybe one day he’ll get tired of it.”

“Wait, you don’t remember?” His voice rose and his eyebrows shot up, wrinkling his forehead. “You know who got here last night right?”

“Oh, shit, that’s right." She popped herself on the forehead and chewed on the inside of her cheek. A few seconds of looking thoughtful ended in a shrug. "Well, he’s no different from any other student, and he better get used to seeing me look like I ‘rolled out of a trash can.’” She completed the sentence with air quotes and turned to leave. “Besides, he’s a little preoccupied with your fuck ups and the new guy to care about my rebellious teenage habits.”

Scott and Jean’s eyes met once before they turned to leave the institute. The weight of the new arrival was beginning to seep into her brain but didn’t quite reach all the stunted neurons. She was to be his introduction to society and traditional American academia. Her current predicament was probably about right for the task. She poked into the kitchen and found herself not too interested in the food and settled on chugging water from the tap while waiting for toast to pop out. Ororo strode in, appearance much more regal than Elaina’s.

“How did you sleep? I heard you come in last night, but I didn’t really think interrupting you was necessary.”

“Whaaaaatttt?” She pitched up and drew out her response. “I was in bed at a 9:38 sharp. I haven’t a clue what you mean.” She copied the British accent and dunked her head under the faucet once again.

“Mmmhm. Well, I’ll just have to let Charles know that someone freely roamed into the institute without triggering the defenses only to sing a very sloppy version of some pop song I couldn’t name.”

“It may have been Britney, but we will truly never know. I sleep too deeply to hear anyone do anything… But for real, is he mad?”

“I think he’s distracted at the moment, but he does not forget things like punishing you so easily. He has requested that I let you know he’s waiting for you.”

Elaina started the zombie munch on her toast when her stomach took a hard left and rolled over the embankment. It didn’t feel close to the usual hangover flip-flops. It was reminiscent of early anxiety attack feelings. She didn’t reach the conclusion until Ororo had gotten a few more words in asking if she were alright.

“Are you feeling ill? How much did you drink last night? Have you taken anything?”

“Have you met the new recruit yet?” Elaina thumbed the bridge of her nose, not sure of who’s anxiety she had felt.

“I have. He’s quiet right now, but I have the feeling he will open up with the right company. You haven’t met yet?”

“No, I think he’s around though. Did he seem nervous?”

“A little, but it is expected given the circumstances. Are you sure you’re just not anxious to meet him?”

“Yeah, I’m so sure I’m just anxious over one guy. I’m shaking in my weird spandex boots, Ororo.” Elaina turned away, realizing that whatever she was feeling was kicking up her irritation and therefore, her snark. “I’m sorry, I just haven’t felt this bad in a while.”

“Do you mean right now, or in the past few weeks?”

“Sure.” She stood straight and ignored Ororo after her answer. She worked her way to the study, where she heard a few voices spreading into the foyer. The snake around her lungs coiled, constricted, seemingly interrupted for a split second, then returning to slowly fade out. Jean and Scott stood within the study, discussing the previous night’s events. Elaina peered around the door, making sure to use every bit of stealth she had learned over previous years of training. She spied Charles, and his voice rang through her head.

“You should come in. He is your new team member after all.”

“No thanks, I’m fine right here. He’s just a projective guy.”

“We’ve talked about this, El.” Xavier caught her eye in the doorway, right before the recent arrival walked in front of his view. He smiled at the obstruction and once he had a view of the door, she was gone again.

Elaina stalked down the hallway, trying to remember what she had seen of him. A little blue, a little pointed in some areas, namely the tail she completely forgot about counting as an extra appendage. He was all mutant. She didn’t happen to notice his voice, his words, how much English he spoke. His emotions spearheaded his energy, and it would inevitably roll onto her. She stood at the end of the hall, waiting for Jean and Scott to leave them in the study. Jean turned and winked at her in leaving, effortlessly conveying how much shit Elaina was in right now. A few minutes passed and they came out of the study and turned towards Elaina to find their way up to the dormitory. She snuck up the stairs adjacent to the elevator and waited at the next floor for the elevator to drop them off. Eavesdropping had become one of her many talents, but it had never been so dire to her that she wasn’t caught.

They exited the elevator and she began to stalk her prey. Had she decided to put on shoes, this whole thing probably would have been a bust. They turned into his bedroom, and Ororo passed her with a quizzical look. She carried an all too familiar box that meant a new suit was about to be gifted to an X-Man. She listened for a few seconds, hearing the thick accent fawn over the image inducer that Charles had proudly shown her days before. Ororo was quick to reassure him and make a point of how much the image inducer wasn’t what made him normal. He didn’t seem to care much for the sentiment. Excitement rolled from him to Elaina in the hallway, just barely enough for her to feel it.

“We have set up for you to take some time before joining the others at Bayville High, just enough to catch up. One of our other students has agreed to help you in that, but she tends to be a little hard to pin down, so if she gives you any trouble, don’t hesitate to let us know.”

“Another student?”

“Yes, she’s closer to your age and can speak a bit of German. She is however, only seen when she wishes apparently.”

“Thank you, Professor. Maybe she will come soon, ja?”

Charles smiled at him and closed the door as he left. His eyebrow shot up at the sight of Elaina, who had not bothered to hide. She smiled with wide eyes, tugging on her fingers as she leaned to one side.

“He’s not much my pace, Prof.”

“Maybe it will do you some good. You can borrow some energy from him.” He wheeled towards her and waved her along. “I’d like for you to at least introduce yourself to him today. I know this will be a transition for you as well, so I’m not expecting leaps and bounds right away.”

“I’m absolutely going to avoid him for as long as I can, and there’s not much you can do about it.”

“Is that very fair to him?” Charles sighed out as he rubbed his temples.

“He’s so nervous! When he gets nervous, I get nervous, and that is not ideal. Maybe you should just ask Scoot and Boot and to do it. He’s friendly.”

“It will be fine. I understand the need to be comfortable but learning to block out other’s emotions is just as important as learning to influence them."

“You preach to Jean all the time about the importance of leaving people to their own devices, that it’s wrong to use powers like that, but I’m supposed to sway people with mine?”

“Your powers can help other mutants in times of stress. You know how scary being a new mutant can be, if some of that scare can go away, it will be more beneficial in the long run.” He took her hand and clasped it as he spoke. “Understand?”

“I understand, but I still don’t agree with it. And I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon anyway.” She crossed her arms and retreated down the hallway towards her own room. Professor Xavier watched silently, hoping that she would at the very least, prove that she exists. \

* * *

Throughout the next two days, it seemed as though the youngest two in the institute dodged and weaved around each other, one of them barely knowing where he was going, and the other trying her damnedest to not cross paths. A storm rolled in suddenly, usually a sign that Ororo was hard at work for some reason or other. It was odd for a torrential downpour, but the sound was relaxing enough that she didn't complain. The hairs on Elaina’s arms stood as she shivered once, not sure who was facilitating that. She had an inkling, but it couldn’t be confirmed.

Soon after, this was followed by a crashing, glass breaking, thumpity-thumping as it seemed two people were having it out. Elaina crept toward the foyer and watched as midnight blue tussled with sickly green, and neither seemed to be winning. She recognized the green one as a student from Bayville, the one that Scott had mentioned earlier. They had shared some mutual friends, but they never crossed paths before. It was entertaining to watch two teenage boys have it out on sight for no reason whatsoever, not an ounce of skill between them. They didn’t feel angry, just confused and frustrated with each other from what she could tell. Xavier called for them to stop, only for them to puff into nothingness. Their energy was gone from Elaina and she believed for a split second that they were just completely gone.

“They’ve teleported into the danger room, I’ll contact Jean and Scott until we can get down there.” Professor Xavier cranked his wheelchair into high gear and worked towards the elevator with Ororo. Elaina began to follow until a crushing fear struck her. She clutched her chest and looked to Charles in the elevator until she realized that this was not her own. She sprinted to meet them before the doors closed and rode down to the control room. Scott and Jean had effectively prevented the two boys’ immediate death, but it seemed that mistakes were on the new student’s repertoire. Elaina crouched, unable to do much to assist from the control room. She could feel the tension and fear, but adrenaline was physical and didn’t offer her any aid. Storm ended the fiasco with both boys dispersing from the danger room. One was followed by Scott and the other shown out by Xavier. Elaina followed Xavier, hoping at the very least that she could avoid anyone else until she had relaxed from the panic she felt on someone else’s behalf. Growing quiet at the end of the day was a common occurrence for her, but tonight it was more warranted than ever. She hung back, waiting for Charles to see Todd off, but was shocked to hear a familiar voice come from outside.

“Logan!” She bounded off the balcony, in a similar fashion to Todd mere minutes beforehand. She ran up to him, tightly wrapping her arms around his mid-section. She buried her face into his shoulder and inhaled as deeply as she could, digging up old memories with the muskiness he gave. He softened and patted her back.

“You didn’t happen to see some cranky old man with metal bones, did you? I think he’s got a death wish coming back here.”

“Yeah, I saw him, I think he dropped his cane by the front lawn though. He might still be trying to find it.”

They both pulled back and Logan ruffled her hair, most of which had fallen out of its messy updo during the proceedings of the day. It was a tender moment that not many people got to witness, and those that did wouldn’t dare to acknowledge it had happened.

* * *

Breakfast the next day was almost devoid of teens, save for Scott. The instructors had been discussing the previous day as Scott entered the room. Without skipping a beat between good-mornings and pleasantries, he joined the conversation.

“He didn’t do terribly. It’s a shame that Toad took off though, he seemed like he could use some guidance.

“He did well in avoidance; I’m surprised they both did so well, to be frank,” Xavier recounted.

“What happened last night?” Logan munched on bacon as he spoke.

“They teleported into the danger room.”

“And they didn’t get their asses kicked?”

“Oh, they were pretty shaken for sure.” Logan and Charles went back and forth before Scott interjected.

“Where was El, by the way? Wasn’t she supposed to help him out and, I don't know, make sure he didn’t get stuck in the danger room?”

“Elaina seems to have elected to ignore our newest student for the time being.” Xavier rubbed his forehead as he explained.

“Are you sure you want her to be introducing him to the institute? She’s got a slew of issues as it is. Do you want me or Jean to deal with it instead?”

“No, I think this is an opportunity for Elaina. Besides, English is rough, it will be faster with a shared language.”

“I gotta agree with Scooter here, Chuck. Elaina’s rough around the edges.” As the words left Logan’s mouth, the new student poofed into the dining room. "But she ain't the worst."

“I would also have to agree. She may not be the best suited for this task,” Ororo piped in. The people at the table fell silent again as they focused on eating once again.

“So what do you think so far?” Scott looked to the new arrival as he started a new conversation.

“_Sehr gut_. I hope to meet Elaina today.”

“As much as you want that to happen, it probably won’t.”

“Why?”

“She’s already decided when you’re gonna meet her. And it might be never.” Scott replied to the younger boy and received an elbow from Logan. “You guys are really gonna let her ignore him?”

“If you want to hang out and teach him English, then go for it, Scooter. No one’s stopping you.”

“You’re totally okay with making him rely on Elaina?”

“Is she bad for relying?” the fresh face asked as simply as he could.

“Well, Cyke, you started it. Go on.” Logan pointed at Scott from the rim of his glass of water.

“She’s kinda…dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Just very moody. She doesn’t really listen to anyone and she’s got no problem breaking noses over little spats.”

“Oh.” He cringed at the explanation. “Maybe she will be okay with me, ja?”

“I think we can all agree that being careful is the best advice for the next few days,” Ororo patted his shoulder and started to gather the dirty and empty dishes at the table. Scott crossed his arms when he realized no one cared as much as he did about the arrangement.

Once they finished eating, everyone parted ways and the game of hiding continued between the two youngest students.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping this will get more into Elaina's characterization and relationships with the other X-Men. We'll see how well it does.

Monday mornings were generally lackluster in the Xavier Institute. Elaina popped her toothbrush into her mouth while staring blankly back at Jean. They were used to sharing space, should Elaina be in a welcoming mood. Jean found that Elaina’s pleasant attitude from the summer months had slowly waned back into her usual, off-putting, aggravated nature.

“The poor guy’s been working on German and loose English for three days; don’t you think it’s time to at least say ‘Hi’?” Jean questioned her as she spit into the sink.

“It’s not my problem if he hasn’t figured it out by now. I’m working on it, anyway.”

“Is something stopping you?”

“Pfft, no. I’m gonna bother Logan all morning about it later though.”

“It’s Monday.” Elaina blinked back at Jean’s statement. “Uh, we have school?”

“_You_ have school. I’ve got big plans today.”

“Like what?”

“Not being at school.” Elaina shot finger guns at Jean as she bounced into the hallway. She peeked back in. “Do you know if the professor’s gonna be around today?”

“He’s doing the tour of Bayville High, I think. It’ll just be you and Logan and Ororo.” She smiled largely as the words left her mouth.

“Verrrrryyyyy nice. Have a fun day at Okay-ville High.” She waved Jean off again and jogged back into her room. She pulled on a clean pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt before leafing through her layers of sheet music on her headboard. If anything were to reset the week, it would be a day off school spent enjoying herself. She slid onto her bed and mulled over how to avoid seeing Xavier before he left for the school. She heard Jean and Scott peel out of the driveway and decided to check the garage before trying any openly “I’m skipping school” activities. She found the garage missing the telling Rolls Royce, but the kitchen had an added mean-looking mug.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not because?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Fair enough. Are you ditching because you want to work on something else you apparently don’t want to do?”

“I don’t think I can work with him. He’s constantly throwing anxiety and that only makes me anxious.”

“To quote you on this, ‘suck it up, buttercup.’ It ain’t getting any easier for both of you. I think he was sick last night, but comfort and tender loving care ain’t in my job description.”

“Gross. I hope it's not contagious.” Elaina picked at the leftover toast on the table. Logan unfurled the newspaper in front of him and grunted in response. That usually meant Logan’s attention was no longer for outside consumption so she hurried out of the kitchen. She found her way to the sitting room that housed the piano and carefully tapped a few keys. She layered her pieces together so that maybe she wouldn’t spend so much time picking and choosing the next. The first line dipped into notes she couldn’t reach without a decent warmup, so she had already chosen to skip the first song entirely. The piano and her voice rang throughout the institute; her energy swelled with the music, its crescendos, and faltered with decrescendos. The circling halls and vaulted ceilings left a ring to some notes and a glorious echo if she listened carefully. If anything were to give her some artificial happiness, it would be the emotion behind a foreboding, melodic angsty song. Slowly, the sheets fell around the floor as she tossed them aside. She barreled into piece after piece, each building into songs she favored more than the last. She felt a familiar presence in the room and knew that she now had an audience, but she didn’t care to find out who it was. Usually, they didn’t dare interrupt as it was considered a private activity to her and doing such a thing would inherently mean a prickly response. She felt the wood beneath her shift just slightly. She ended the last line and began to feel more of the environment and less of her music. There was some disbelief, some awe, but mostly an apprehensive and excited body.

“I did not understand when the professor says, ‘the walls hum,’ but I know now.” His voice crept into her, it was uneven and almost whiny, broken with leftover pubescent change. Her eyes snapped up to meet his blueish-black ones, before she turned to spot a cheeky professor and Ororo with a wide, surprised grin. She looked back at him and stammered for a response. Not only did she go as hard as she could (who can resist Fleet Foxes?), but she also has been avoiding this interaction for days. It could no longer be passed off as coincidence.

“I didn’t know you were in here.” She paused and stared back at his pale face. “My name’s Elaina.” She held out her hand and he recoiled slightly before taking it. Silky fur upended at the contact, poking in places and smoothing in others.

“Kurt Wagner. You are to help me here, yes?”

“Yeah, I…” She stammered again, remembering just how long she had been avoiding him. “I am. I’m sorry for avoiding you, I’m not a people person, and you’re a big deal and...” He smiled at her rambling trailing off.

“I am not sure what you mean, but it is okay.”

“Oh, shit, right! I’m supposed to help you learn English. Let’s do this again?” She started to relax as her mind shifted to trying to remember the German she had learned. “_Ich heisse Elaina. Ich bin sechzehn Jahre alt. Wie heisst du?_” She spoke the words as if it had been pre-recorded after years of German class reviews.

“_Ich heisse Kurt Wagner. Ich bin funfzehn Jahre alt, und ich komme aus Bayern_.” He sat up straight and copied her robotic phrases, deepening his voice. “_Wohin kommst du?_”

“_Ich komme aus_…Pennsylvania.” She faltered before saying Pennsylvania, not sure how to say it without the American drawl.

“_Sehr gut! Du sprichst sehr gut. Wie lange hast du Deutsch gesprochen?_”

“_Nur drei Jahre._”

“_Und Musik?_”

“_Um sieben Jahre._ What do you think of America so far?” She switched to English and raised an eyebrow at him.

“It is very different. It is much more loud here.”

“What makes it louder?”

"Louder?"

"More loud." She smiled at him, offering some stability and patience to his learning mind.

“Louder house, louder color, louder _people_.” He met her eyes at the last phrase, and she cocked her eyebrow at him.

“It’s nice to see you too finally meet. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about, and plenty of time to talk about it, right, Ms. Ward?” Xavier looked to her as she smiled back at him.

“Riiiight.” She turned on the bench to face him.

“Considering you’ll be grounded for the rest of the week and next, I believe you’ll find time.” He tented his fingers in front of his face.

“Grounded?” Kurt repeated.

“It means I can’t leave for fun. Only school.”

“Oh, like…” He screwed up his face and found no way to communicate his thoughts.

“Yeah, like punishment. _Strafe_?”

“_Ja, wie Strafe_. Punishment. What did you do? Steal some cookies?”

“I ditched school.” She smiled at Kurt over her shoulder

“Ditched?”

“_Ich gehe heute nicht_. I did not go today.” She repeated the English after the German, it seemed like it would simplify the learning process for Kurt, at least until he expanded his vocabulary.

“When do I go to school?” He looked between the professor and Elaina, hoping that the answer might just be never.

“We’ve arranged that you will have a bit of time to relax and play catch-up. You’ve got two weeks right now, but the more you stay away, the more behind you will be when you do start.”

“I understand, Professor. We have much work to do then, ja?” He tilted his head towards Elaina, barely meeting her eyes. Worry started to creep in on Elaina and she was sure that it wasn’t hers to claim.

“_Wir werden es langsam angehen lassen._ We will take it slow.” She drew out the second sentence and the grip on her sternum seemed to release just a little bit. “Every day, after school, just for a few hours.” She tried to smile as warmly as she could, maybe it would calm him down even more. Proximity and stress were not on her side, and the grip slowly tightened around them both once again.

“_Hast du Frühstück gegessen?_ Have you eaten breakfast? _Wir können es zusammen kochen._ We can make it together.” He smiled at her and nodded. It seemed distracted, like he wasn’t really listening to what she said. Either way, she pulled on his arm to stand and then waved goodbye to the professor. He shared a look with Ororo as the two teens disappeared beyond the doorway.

“How do you know this place well?”

“You learn. Have you gotten lost yet?’

“_Ach, ja, so viel_.“ He threw his head back as he spoke.

Their breakfast morning continued into a late brunch as cooking took a bit longer than expected. They settled on chocolate chip muffins for their morning journey. Elaina took control of the kitchen immediately as Kurt wandered between cabinets and the fridge looking for various requested items. They both agreed that food words should take precedence over anything else in Kurt’s learning. After ingredients were gathered, Elaina took the time to make Kurt become more active in the process. The accompanying anxiety reminded her of a crucial fact: Kurt’s fuzzy. She upped the praises and tried to push as many good feelings onto him as possible. It occurred to her that he might not know that she’s aware of his mutation. It took a few minutes for him to relax enough that Elaina couldn’t feel it, and he seemed outwardly okay. Once the muffins were in, he sat on the opposite side of the island counter. Elaina claimed the other side, idly wiping the counter with a rag.

“Do you cook at home?” She smiled weakly as she stuck her entire foot in her mouth. Of course, he didn’t; he’s covered in fur. He grimaced ever so slightly at the question and looked down at his hands.

“Not so much. I am…” He looked up to the ceiling, avoiding her gaze. “Bad for cooking?” His shoulders drew up, waiting to see if she would take the blatant lie.

“I can teach you that, too.”

“That may not be a good idea.”

“Why? Because you have fur?” She made eye contact with this question; he would not avoid this one so easily.

“I cook, the food is also furry. No one wants that.”

“_Mehr für uns_. More for us.” She grinned at him and he softened from the other side of the counter.

“You do not care?”

“Nope.” She bit her bottom lip and shook her head at him. He slouched further in his chair, just now resting his arms on the counter. They continued to chat and to overcome the language barrier, and Kurt’s wavering anxiety. After half an hour, the warm muffins filled the air with an undeniable aroma that would draw even the most detached X-Man. They didn’t get much time to cool before the kids started deciding which they wanted.

“Do you think Ororo would like one?” Kurt licked his finger after it had been marred with chocolate.

“If Ororo wanted muffins, she should have made some.” Kurt scrunched his face at her reply. “Okay, she can have ONE.”

“Where is she?”

“The study, most likely.” She tilted her head to get the ideal bite of muffin when Kurt offered her his hand.

“I know where that is.”

She cocked her eyebrow mid-bite at him. She high-fived him and continued to chew with a smug grin. He rolled his eyes and prompted her again to take his hand. She reached out and tried to feel for his fur.

“Okay?” He leaned forward to break her gaze and regain her attention.

“Okay.”

She felt a twinge of _something_, and within the same second they were in the study, but Elaina felt like her limbs and some vital organs had yet to reattach to her body. Immediately following that, overload caught up to her. The sound and feeling of the fabric of Kurt’s arm rubbing the fabric of her shirt as he supported her weight, the smell of sulfur assaulting her nostrils and upsetting her stomach, the sound of Kurt’s heartbeat in her ears and against her back, and the new ache to her limbs that had just rejoined her body. The room came back into view as Ororo and Charles turned to look at them. Had it really only been milliseconds?

“_Alles okay?_”

“Yeah.” She breathed out the response and tried to focus on the two in front of her. The attempt was met with another wave of hypersensitivity and wooziness. “Is it like that every time?”

“_Nicht für mich, setzt dich, bitte._”

“_Nein, alles gut. Lass mich los._ Let go.” He let go of her waist but stayed close to her. “Ororo! We made muffins.” She still sounded ever so slightly weakened by the teleport but stayed determined to not let it show.

“And I get one? How generous of you.” Ororo eyed Elaina and she returned with a shrug towards Kurt. The professor winked at Elaina and turned to a bookshelf. “It is very good, a big improvement on your previous recipe.”

They beamed at her praise and spent a few minutes talking about changes, which mostly included Elaina’s rambling. They eventually pardoned themselves and left the study to go clean the kitchen. It was a slow walk, as Elaina took time to point out where different hallways led to again and their conversation picked up.

“Are you sure you are okay?”

“I’m fine, Kurt. It’s no big. You don’t get sick when you teleport?”

“Not now, and not to that level.”

“Not even like a little?”

“Only if a lot or very soon after another.”

“I guess you’d get used to it.”

“Get used to it?”

“_Gewöhn dich dran._”

“_Ah, ja. Es is_—it is not so bad now. What do you do?”

“I’m an empath.”

He furrowed his brow at her answer but didn’t respond as they got into the kitchen. It wasn’t a total disaster, but they did note two more muffins had gone missing from the tin. They worked on cleaning up and by that point had fallen into a sort of rhythm. Kurt moved slowly through the kitchen as Elaina bounced around him. They stood back to make sure no spots were missed.

“I guess we’re done in here.” She crossed her arms over her body and looked to Kurt. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, allowing awkwardness to creep in on them. “You good?”

“Ja, it was nice cooking with you.” His sheepish smile did little to hide the glaring want he had.

“Wanna walk around more?”

“Ja, okay!” He perked up immediately at the invitation

They spent the next few hours touring the institute’s ins and outs, making small talk despite Elaina’s inherent hatred for it. Kurt was taking up English well and he admitted that he could speak just a little before meeting Charles. They parted ways at Kurt’s door as he had started yawning once they got back in the foyer. Naptime was uncommon for the teleporter but even some days had their inconsistencies.

* * *

Kurt awoke to the sun creeping in his balcony window and a knock on his door. He opened it to Elaina as she leaned on the doorframe, hand on hip and tongue in cheek.

“I am to inform you that Scott and Jean will be home soon and you’re not to have a bedhead.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow at her statement but got distracted by her making no attempt to hide that she was peeking into his room. He rolled his eyes at her for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. He took a step back and waved to the room. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she peered in, not taking a step in yet.

“Come in?”

He stood back and watched her take a few steps as if she were a cat that had just been brought home. Eyes wide, taking in every inch in view, and a lowered body waiting for something to happen. He sat on his bed until she spied the books he had stacked on his bedframe. He scooted down and allowed her the opportunity to investigate. She read each spine despite not knowing how to properly pronounce each title and he corrected her as she went down the line. A loose book on the end had no spine text.

“What’s this one?”

“Bible. _Auf Deutsch_.”

“Do you read it?”

“Ja, sometimes.”

“Is it…good?” He huffed out of his nose and smirked at her. “I guess that’s a dumb question. What’s your favorite…thing?”

“Thing?”

“Yeah, like John 17:38 or whatever.”

“You are not religious?”

“How can you tell?”

“There is the old and the new, and there are books. Then chapters and verses.” He took the book from her and pointed out the different parts.

“Favorite verse?”

“I do not have one right now.” He sighed at her and the book.

“May I?” The book was handed off to her, and to his surprise, she held it to her face and breathed in deeply. She held eye contact with him as he tilted his head and scrunched his face.

“What are you doing?”

“You do it. Sniff.” He gingerly took the book and repeated her actions.

“Sniff? Okay. Ja? It smells of book?”

She took the bible from him and placed it back on the shelf. She carefully selected another book and inhaled just as deeply. She offered it to him, and he copied her once again.

“Oh…huh. This book is…different.”

“All books smell different. If you smell while you read, you remember it more. Your body will like it.”

“Ja, you think?”

“I know, Kurt Wagner. I know.” She paged through her book and tried to read a line from the book. It came out sloppy and slow with many mistakes. Kurt suppressed a chuckle and took her through the words she didn’t know.

“You should practice reading more. You speak well, but you read not so well. Have it for now.”

“You’re sure?” He nodded in response and tucked his hands between his knees. She gave him the most mangled German “thank you” and they both giggled.

“Who is laughing and having fun? That isn’t allowed.” Scott popped in the doorway. “I see you finally bit the bullet there, chief.” He was addressing Elaina, but it was almost impossible to tell.

“Yeah, I bit the bullet your darling wife put in my mouth. She told me Kurt was touring the school today!” Her voice rose in feigned irritation.

“It must’ve been a mistake. Oops.” Scott lowered his head in a smile and turned to leave the room. “Oh! That’s right, we’re supposed to be in the danger room around 4 and then dinner at 6. Just an FYI.”

“Gross. I’ll be sure to skip that, too.” She leaned back on her elbows and let her head fall back.

“DON’T you dare. We all get penalized for it if you miss a group session and that’s not gonna fly today. I’ve got homework due and I don’t wanna wait for Logan to—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll be there. Don’t get your panties too twisted, Cyke.”

“You better be there.”

“Or else what? You gonna hit me? Better make it count. Better make it hurt. Better kill me in one shot.” She jumped up as she spoke and bounced in front of Scott, hands up in loose fists. He crouched down and without hesitation hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Now what? You’re stuck.” He smirked at Kurt and tried to stay standing as she let her body become dead weight. He rolled her off onto the floor and gasped as he felt her leg sweep connect with his ankle. She somersaulted backward onto her knees and turned to Kurt.

“Rule number 1 of fisticuffs: don’t think it’s over because you won.” She patted Scott’s chest as he turned to get up. Kurt chuckled at them both and nodded at her statement.

“You didn’t even use your fists.” He flung his arms at his sides and she turned to face Kurt.

“Rule number 2: I fight dirty.” He laughed out loud this time and held out his hand to help her up.

“I’m going to get ready for training, and you should too!” Scott called to them as he left down the hallway. Elaina heard a light “okay” from behind her and turned to see Kurt without his false exterior. He met her eyes and the curiosity she felt was instantly shrouded in worry. He stuttered some words that never came to fruition and she held her hands toward him.

“Hey, it’s chill, it’s okay. Don’t freak out.” His wide eyes didn’t waver from their fear but he managed to clamp his mouth shut. “I knew you were fuzzy, but I didn’t know you were _red_.”

“What? I am not red!” He whirled to face the vanity as if her words had any truth to them.

“I’m kidding. Just joking. It’s okay. It’s a lovely shade of grey.” She smirked at him as she felt the worry dial back.

“Heh, okay. Funny joke. Ha, ha.” As he spoke, she walked to stand behind him and tried to make it seem like she wasn’t inspecting every inch of his body. She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

“Even crouched a little, you’re still taller than me.”

“I am!” He patted her head and she rolled her eyes at him.

“Take me to my room?”

“I have never been there, I cannot ‘port.”

“Then walk with me, you dork.”

He leaned against the wall outside her door while she changed, making sure to let her know he wouldn’t be nosy. She stuck her tongue out and shut the door behind her. Kurt heard some things clatter around with some choice words from behind the door. A few minutes later and she stepped out of the room donning her suit and a new ponytail. It was the same bodysuit style, but it varied in design. A bright blue body armor covered her shoulders and chest, stopping just above the waist. It ended in a pointed tip that looked like it would point directly to her belly button. The armor wrapped around her shoulders and ended at the top of her bicep, accentuating the muscles in her arms. They carried the classic “x” symbol on each shoulder, akin to Jean’s. She snapped on her belt and it hung loosely and slightly crooked on her hips. Her boots dangled by her side, straps entangled.

“You ready for the danger room?”

“I guess. It cannot be worse than last time.”

“Are we walking or ‘porting?”

“You want to teleport still?”

“Yeah, I have to get used to it anyway. Let’s do it. Aim for the control room this time.” She held out her hand and he sighed. He took her hand and made sure to have one arm behind her, prepared to catch her.

“Ready?” She nodded in response to him and they blinked into the control room. This time her limbs stayed attached to her body and there was only minor dizziness with the arrival.

“See, we’re good.” She held her arms out and shrugged at him. The dizziness, however, did not dissipate. “You good?” She raised her eyebrow at Kurt as he took in the entirety of the room. He frowned, shrugged, and continued to examine the control room.

“Hey! Nightcrawler’s back in the danger room! Ready for round 2?” Scott came out of the elevator and slung his arm around Kurt’s shoulders.

“I guess. Where is Jean?”

“She’ll be down in a few; she was talking with the prof.” He let go and strode over to peer down as the danger room built their course. He stopped next to Elaina as she leaned against the glass. “You should really consider putting those boots on, you might get a splinter.” She rolled her eyes in response, not yet feeling completely together enough to talk, much less risk falling over to put her shoes on.

“What is your secret name?” Kurt appeared next to them and looked up to Scott.

“My codename is Cyclops. Elaina is Flux and Jean is just Jean.” He motioned to each person and the elevator as it dinged upon arrival.

“Flux?” He looked towards her only to find her sitting on the floor, legs outstretched.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t pick it.” She stretched down to touch her toes before finally sliding a boot on.

“It means ‘to flow’. I felt it was fitting and the name was not immediately shot down, like many others.” Charles rolled in and answered Nightcrawler’s question. Jean and Storm followed him in, the former joining Scott at the glass. “How are we feeling today? Good?” He looked to each of their faces, only to find one disinterested face, one face that avoided his gaze, one face that appeared to be interested, and one face that was undeniably interested. “Today, we’re just going to do a small obstacle course. There will be minor setbacks, but I trust you will process them quickly. Since you’re all suited…” He looked to Elaina on the ground, still half-bootless, and cleared his throat. “Once you’re all completely suited, we can get you started.”

The team made their way down to the room, with Nightcrawler hanging in the back. The danger room had finished rendering the environment, and the four teens were met with uninterrupted steel. One gap in front of them, with what seemed like three other pathways to choose from.

“It’s a fucking maze.” Flux drug her hands down her face and let them fall at her sides.

“A maze?” Kurt struggled to get the word out

“Yeah, uhh…_Labyrinth?_” She scrunched up her face, not entirely sure of the German word.

“Ah, ja, okay. _Stimmt’s_.”

“Hey, in English, we all need to communicate with each other.” Scott snapped back at them. “Okay, I think our best option is to cover as much area as we can. Nightcrawler and Jean will take one path, Flux and I will take the other two.”

“Sounds like a good way to get snatched, Cyclops.” Flux crossed her arms. “I’m gonna get boned.”

“He said setbacks, not surprise attacks. It’ll be fine.”

They all took off in separate directions before Flux came to her first “setback.” The gun popped out of the floor in front of her and she ran to vault over it. Before she could clear it, she was tagged with a paintball. The professor’s voice rang out over the danger room, declaring her out. Cyclops could be heard sighing from the other side of the room. Flux paced herself into the control room, not particularly caring about the rest of the team’s progress as she couldn’t influence it anyway.

“Is there a particular reason I got pinned in the first five minutes?”

“Yes, I’m afraid. Watching all three of you for the right moment to attack was just far too stressful, so I had to take one out.” He winked at her and turned back to the keyboard.

The dizziness Flux felt was just barely present, but there was a bigger debut coming. Her thoughts drifted to the exits; how would she get to them? Where did they lead to after that? Where should she go? She needed to get out of there. The thoughts assaulted her one after another and she crouched down, not sure why the air was so heavy around her.

“Fuck me, that’s not even me right now, I’m fine. Who is that?” She steadied her breathing with old tools that were drilled into her brain. She felt a hand on her back and focused on the feeling. Ororo had moved closer to her, her lips moving but sound didn’t seem to penetrate the ringing in her ears.

The professor popped a second gun on Cyclops, who blasted it without hesitation. Jean and Nightcrawler had made it further through the maze but had been set up to fail from the start as they chose the wrong path from the beginning. A gun folded out from the wall in front of the two, and Nightcrawler promptly curled in on himself, ready to accept his fate.

“Hey, it’s okay, I put a forcefield around it. If it shoots, it only gets itself.” She pulled him to a standing position again and they moved past the gun.

Scott had made a few more turns before running directly into a wall. It was a dead end. A gun popped out behind him and pelted him before he could even get his hand to his visor. Once again, Xavier’s voice rang out and Cyclops began retracing his path to the beginning. The panic had yet to evaporate from Elaina’s body as she repeated the breathing exercises.

“It’s Kurt, he’s _freaking_ out.” She rubbed her arms as she spoke to Ororo.

“Charles.”

“We need to see this through. Stopping a simulation for a scared X-Man would mean no training at all.” He turned back to the keyboard and ordered another surprise for the two remaining team members.

A panel opened in front of the two once again, and following suit, Nightcrawler dropped to the ground. Jean bubbled the gun and turned to Kurt. He was murmuring under his breath, not quite a prayer and not quite a plea. The gun whirred behind them and slouched as the walls retreated into the floor.

“Come on up, you two, we’ve got some reviewing to do.”

Nightcrawler yelped at the voice, assuming that he was pegged.

When the doors to the control room opened, Elaina was still crouched by the window, Cyclops had taken up space on a counter, and both the teachers were waiting for them. Elaina jumped up and demanded Kurt’s eye contact. She breathed in deeply in front of him, held it, and whooshed it out of her body. On the second round, he joined her and nodded as they continued the rhythm.

“What’s the message, prof? We didn’t spend more than 20 minutes on this session before you took us out.” Scott motioned with his arms as he spoke to Charles.

“The message, Cyclops, was one you must learn before you can work effectively as a team—you must trust your teammates. Your team will only function well if everyone is in the necessary space, and most of the time that is together. Everyone’s skill set is variable, but they all work together to pick up the slack. Had you stayed together it would have taken longer, but you wouldn’t have to do it again tomorrow.” He turned to look at Elaina and Kurt, still engrossed in each other as she willed his emotions away. “I’d suggest you think about how to make your teammates bounce off each other. As their leader, it is up to you to direct them.” He addressed the other three teens as Elaina and Kurt rejoined the group. “We will try again tomorrow. Hopefully, it will go a little bit better.”

They nodded and boarded the elevator as Kurt bamfed from the room. Scott pouted for the ride while Jean and Elaina, deciding to leave the training session in the basement of the institute, discussed their plans for the rest of the day. Dinner commenced without a hitch, which was sometimes a big feat depending on who cooked. Jean was usually the first to vacate the dining room, tending to take more time on her homework than anyone else at the institute. Scott was second that night, followed by Charles and then Ororo. Elaina and Logan always seemed to spend drawn-out time conversing over everything and nothing in particular. Kurt listened to them for what felt like hours until his eyelids started to feel like sandpaper polishing his retina. As the resident fuzzball finally took his leave, Elaina went to join Ororo in the attic of the mansion. She had made a passing remark about being visited during dinner, but she knew it would be received and heeded by the target. They enjoyed each other’s wordless company for a while before Ororo broke the silence.

“So…what do you think?”

“I think this baby spider plant needs a new home. I’m taking it.” Carefully, a new pot was selected, and the small tendrils coiled into the fresh dirt. Elaina arranged the leaves evenly and set it by the door.

“No, I mean about Kurt. He’s something else.”

“He’s kinda funny, in a ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ kinda way. He’s so…gentle. I don’t know how he’s gonna be face-punching and ass-kicking.”

“Yes, he’s certainly got a way to go. I think he has a good teacher though.” Ororo’s face softened at the statement. She checked Elaina’s face to see if a reaction would indicate how the rest of the conversation would go.

“He’s just soaking up all the English he can right now. He sat with Logan and me for like two hours tonight without saying a word.”

“I think he likes the company.” She winked at Elaina as she pruned a hanging ivy plant.

“It might be that too. I can’t imagine he had much to do with other people in Germany.” She finished her sentence with a deep yawn. “I think it’s time for bed.”

“I concur, my young plant apprentice. Remember, once a week.” She handed the pot off to Elaina as she opened the door to leave. The rest of the institute had already started to simmer down for the night as 11pm drew close.

The following few days were an adjustment for Elaina as she got used to her confinement to the institute and her responsibility to Kurt’s education. He picked up things quickly, and he had a broader knowledge than the professor had projected. Scott and Jean stuck in their habit of being around each other and not branching out, unless they happened to be in the same room. The problem area for Kurt was training. Failed sessions happened so frequently that the professor stopped hanging on specific sims purely for the sake of the team. The two younger X-Men cooperated well together; they kept each other in line, mostly through necessity, but it soon came of comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my goal for next chapter is to really solidify the timeline. Where are we rn? How long has Kurt been at the institute? Who knows.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shenanigans. They go to the mall, and Kurt is gettin' a little stressy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wednesday is gonna be the ideal day, given my schedule right now. Mark it on your calendars, guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

They had just settled into the lounge, Elaina sitting behind the coffee table next to Kurt’s legs that dangled off the couch. Books spread out before them, German-English dictionaries not far.

“I think a good way to get you doing English good is if we read to each other.”

“I am not so sure. I do not like to read loud.”

“_Out_loud. And it’s okay. I’m not gonna laugh or make fun of you. I want to see you talk to people and do good in school.” She turned to look at him as she spoke and he tucked his arms into his stomach. “I promise. Pinky swear.” She offered him her little finger at the word.

“Pinky swear?”

“Yeah, it’s like promise. _Versprechen_.” Her finger nudged towards him and he tentatively held out the corresponding digit, his being much bigger. She wrapped hers around it and he giggled while examining how small her finger was compared to his.

“_Deinen kleinen Finger_.”

“Small body, small hands, small fingers.” She let go and spread her hands out in front of her. “Small feet too.” Her foot popped on top of the coffee table.

“_Kitzelige Fuße_?” He reached out to try to tickle her foot but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

“I’ll punch you in the throat. I’m not ticklish.”

“Why did you move then?”

“Don’t worry about it.” The book was thrusted into his hands and she turned towards him. “Go on. I’ll help you if you get stuck.”

The words came out slowly, inflection almost non-existent, pronunciation rough in every way. The cringing increased from one of the pair and Elaina looked between the book and his face to make sure he wasn’t shutting down at the words.

“That was good. Take time to read it before you start speaking, it will help.” She repeated the sentences he had said while he followed her finger on each word. They took time to discuss the words and what the few paragraphs meant.

“Try again?” She tilted her head and reassured him with a bump to the arm.

Processes repeated over a few paragraphs, making what Elaina would refer to as leaps but Kurt felt were only steps.

“How do you feel?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Kurt, you’re doing fine.”

“Will people laugh at me, you think?”

“They might. They probably will.” Her eyebrows drew together at the admission. “But they shouldn’t. You’re learning English, one of the hardest languages on the planet. You’re smart in German and French. All those other ones. Everyone here has one language and they aren’t even that good at it.” As he cast his eyes downward, she bit her lip. “Besides, if anyone thinks laughing at you is a good idea while I’m around, they’ll have a hard lesson to learn.”

“Ja?” He perked up ever so slightly at her words.

“Yeah. You’re not gonna be alone either, our schedules are pretty similar. I think we share like 4 of the 7 periods together. And lunch if you want to put up with me that long.”

“It will be nice to have you scaring people away.”

“Well, it _will_ be your first time out and about right?”

“Ach, ja. I am so worried.” He threw his head back and sighed at the thought. Elaina looked up at him before slapping her hand onto his leg.

“It doesn’t have to be though! Let’s go do something.”

“You are still grounded, yes?” He leaned back on the couch and rolled his head to look at her. “Where will we go? The forest?”

“I’m sure I can pitch a day out to the prof. If it’s for you, he might let me. Or extend my grounding. Either way, we should try.” He sighed, worry settling on his features and slithering into hers. “Hey, if you don’t want to, we can stay. It’s okay.”

“_Nein_, we must do it eventually. Where is the professor?” He offered her his hand and waited for the reply.

“He was doing Cerebro stuff, this morning. Try there?”

They puffed into the room and stood to see the professor wearing the intricate headgear, tapping away with eyes focused on the display in front of him.

“Hello, my two young troublemakers. I’m assuming you’re here with a question?” He didn’t move to them but waited for the response as he took off the unit. Elaina walked up behind him and leaned her forehead on his crown. “This must be a big one.” He reached up to pat her hair and turned to face them both.

“Well, Kurt is nervous about being in public at school because it will be his first time out. I think a good way to solve this problem is to take him out before then. In like a controlled, peaceful environment.”

“Aha, so you need permission to leave.”

“It’s more like a request to not get in trouble when I do take Kurt somewhere today. Because I’m gonna do it either way.”

“And just where were you planning on going?”

“I don’t know, the library? The mall? Lunch?” He chuckled at her suggestions.

“I think the library would be a great idea. The mall, not so much on my pockets. But it is Thursday and there won’t be many people. You have my permission for a day’s release.”

“And your pockets?"

“Use the credit card I gave you, but only on necessities.”

“I’m not gonna ask you to define necessity.” She held her arms out as she backed out of the room, grabbing Kurt as she passed him. “All good? You sure you wanna go?”

“He said it will not be busy, so ja.” He flashed her a crooked smile. “Are we walking?”

“Nope, I can drive.”

“You have a car?”

“Nope, Scott does though.” She smirked at him as he looked to her.

“We are asking him, ja?"

“Nope.”

“Is that smart?”

“Nope. But he’s been too peachy, we gotta kill that mood.” She hopped in Scott’s car and waited for Kurt to move from the doorway.

“We will get in trouble.” His sing-songed the words at her to further emphasize his point.

“Nope, Kurt, _I_ will get in trouble. You coming or no?” She turned the car over into the dull roar of the engine. He bamfed in and buckled in before they cruised out of the driveway. After arriving at the mall, they set in the car for a few minutes as Kurt’s worry stunted Elaina’s excitement to go shopping on someone else’s dollar.

“We can wait as long as you need.”

“It is big.”

“Yeah but look, there aren’t many cars. That means not a lot of people.” She pointed to the parking lot and turned to study his features. He looked pale, strikingly European with a pointed chin and nose. She softened as he took a deep breath. “If you wanna leave, we can. It’s up to you.”

“I want to. I am just scared.”

“Look, there’s like four people here, you’ve got your image inducer, and I’m right here. Unless I have to pee, I’ll be there the whole time.”

“What if I have to pee?” He smirked up at her, returning her light attitude.

“America doesn’t have men’s bathrooms.” She hid her smile behind her best attempt at a serious look.

“You lie, Scott has told me about urinals.”

“Oh shit, look at you go. You catch on quick.” She held out her hand for a high five and fist bump, which were quickly given. She turned back to face the mall and bit down on her lip, the realization that he really has not experienced _anything_ donning on her. “You ready?”

“_Ja, los geht’s_.”

They both got out of the car and walked towards the doors. A stronger heartbeat pounded her own down as Kurt edged into her. A person exiting held the door open for the two teens. Elaina smiled and murmured a quiet thank you as the person nodded and she grabbed Kurt’s hand to make sure he walked through the door. The feeling of a hand around her lung lessened as Kurt stepped closer, almost catching the back of her heels.

“You’re gonna give me a flat tire.”

“What?”

“You’re gonna get my ankles.”

“Oh, sorry.” He bounced back a few inches before taking in the atrium of the mall. “It’s so big” He unconsciously stepped closer as they walked into the center of the tower.

“Here, you’re gonna step on me back there.” Moving to his side, she wrapped her arm around his elbow. “Will this work? Does it help?”

His eyes widened at the action, and he stopped to think about what she asked.

“Ja.” He grinned down at her and patted her hand on his arm.

“Don’t get too comfortable; as soon as you’re not a mess, I’m never touching you again.”

“Ja, alright.” He rolled his eyes and surveyed the stores on the first floor. “Where do we go?”

“Anywhere. We can grab a snacky-poo, we can go shopping for clothes, books, music, etcetera.”

“Snacky-poo?” He giggled at the word she used.

“Do you want food? The pretzels are really good. It’s not a trip to the mall if you don’t get a pretzel. Come on.” She tugged him along to the nearest kiosk that read out Papa Pete’s. She ordered two soft pretzels and handed one to Kurt as he eyed the pretzels on display.

“Here, try it. If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it.” Salt sprinkled into the paper as she tore off a bite and offered it to Kurt. He took it and popped it in his mouth.

“This is good, but not a pretzel.”

“Oh sure, I’m sure that being German makes you the expert in pretzels.” He nodded at her retort as he chewed the bite.

“It does. I will take you for a German pretzel one day, and you will know.”

They strode through the mall, stepping further from other people as Kurt was still a bit skittish. As they turned a corner, four boys that looked to be 12 or 13 crashed into the two of them.

“Right side, shitheads!” Elaina called out and snatched a skateboard from the ground before the owner could grab it.

“Give that back!”

“Act like a decent human being!” She yelled back at him.

“Suck my ass!”

“Eat a—” She was interrupted by Kurt taking the skateboard from her.

“Please, do not do that again, ja?” He smiled at the boy as he handed the skateboard back. He swiped it back from Kurt and threw it on the ground. He tossed an “asshole” back at them as he pushed off. Kurt turned to Elaina and took in her disheveled appearance. Hair falling from its bun, arms crossed, and a scowl that could singe his fur if he got too close. “They are just kids.”

“They were rude. If we were old people, we could have died.”

“But we are not old people and we did not die. It is better to ask nicely than to yell.”

“They’re still doing it aren’t they?”

“Ja, but they did not try to fight with me. Maybe they would listen if you took time to be patient.” She rolled her eyes at the words and tugged on her hair.

“I don’t need to be patient for some delinquents.”

“If I recall, you are also a delinquent.” He bumped into her shoulder as they walked, and she glared at him again.

“You’ve made your point.” She looped her arm around his again and he smiled down at her.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“I wouldn’t do that yet. We’re going clothes shopping.”

“Oh, ja?”

“MMMMmhm.” She nodded and turned him into a store. “_This_ is Abercrombie and Fitch. They’re all the rage for skinny teenage dudes.”

Kurt looked around the shop before an associate strode over to them. He returned to stand behind Elaina and grabbed the side of her shirt. She patted his hand and smiled at the employee coming over. She did the usual greeting and Elaina replied that they were just looking for some clothes for Kurt. The employee smiled at Kurt and directed them to the men’s section of the store. She parted with a “just yell if you need anything” as she returned to folding clothes in the women’s section of the store.

“It’s okay, we’re gonna get greeted in every store.” She tugged on his arm and pulled him to the men’s clothes. “Come on, let’s see if we can’t find more baggy pants and cute little almost-long-sleeved shirts.”

They searched through the clothes before settling on a few that Kurt might favor. He stuck to muted colors while Elaina suggested more bold patterns. When he questioned her options, she whispered that it would look good contrasted against his blue and he laughed.

“And when I am covered?”

“It will still look good. You’ll be cute as a chubby little button.”

“I am not ‘chubby’”

“You’re kinda chubby. Go try these on, we’ll see if they fit and then we’ll know if the rest are the right size.” He took the hanger from her and looked around the store. “You might have to ask the lady for a fitting room.” He frowned at her, shoving his bottom lip out as far as it would go. “I’ll come with you, but I want you to at least use your mouth once on someone other than me.”

“I do not believe I used my mouth on you yet.” He raised his eyebrows and tilted his nose to the sky ever so slightly.

“Your _voice_, you dork. Get your head out of the gutter.” She chuckled at him and lead him to the store associate that had greeted them.

“Are you guys finding everything okay? Oh! A fitting room?” She turned to look towards them, the question lingering between them. Elaina turned to Kurt and he nodded at the worker, his lips pursed.

They followed her to the back, and she unlocked the door to one of the fitting rooms. Elaina elbowed Kurt and he muttered out a "thank you” to the employee. She smiled at him and left them with more instructions to yell if they needed anything. Elaina handed the pants and shirt to Kurt and he tentatively walked into the room. He turned off the image inducer and changed slowly. She spotted his toes under the door and moved to stand in front of it, just in case anyone happened to walk by.

“You have to let me see, you know that?”

“What? Why?”

“It’s the experience of mall shopping with another person, Kurt. A little fashion show.”

“What if someone sees?”

“Just a quick peek. I won’t even open up the door the whole way.” A sighed rolled out from under the door and it clicked open. He stood, slouching, in the room and Elaina gave him a once over. She had not spent much time actually looking at him and took the time to do it now. His build was lanky, skinny, with just a little extra cushion around his belly. The button up she had handed was left open over his white undershirt. It was patterned with geometric shapes and muted colors that stood well against the baggy khakis they had picked out. The pants fell neatly around his unique feet and his tail poked out from the pantleg. He was just an awkward teenage with a few more reasons to be awkward. She closed an eye as she pinched her chin at him.

“What do you think?”

“It is comfortable, and I do not hate it.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. I do.” He peered at his own appearance and his face fell slightly, just barely enough for Elaina to catch it.

“Then we’ll buy it. It’s a cute look.”

They eventually chose a few more outfits and left the store, Kurt still only giving quiet thanks and smiling at the employee. They stopped into the music store for a few minutes until Kurt seemed to grow anxious again.

“You ready to leave? It’s been a lot for today.”

“No, you look. I can wait.” He sat down on the bench in between racks and read the back of a CD.

“Just a few more minutes then.” She bounced between sections before deciding that none of it looked worth the prices the mall had compared to the music store in the city. “Let’s get out of here before Scott’s head explodes.”

They arrived home after their mildly adventurous mall trip to see Scott tapping his foot at the doorstep. Elaina smirked at him from the car and held up her hand as he breathed in to start scolding.

“I filled up the tank.” He let the breath go and motioned her and Kurt out.

“This whole partner-in-crime shit better stop. You’re both gonna get in trouble and Kurt doesn’t need that right now.”

“Hey, it’s fine. It was my idea and he didn’t even want to take your car.”

“Then why did he get in it? With you driving?” He followed them through the house until they reached the kitchen, grilling Elaina the whole way.

“His want to go to the mall overrode his not want to take your car.” She crossed her arms in front of her and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl. “Besides, it’s in one piece, we’re in one piece, and Kurt got new clothes.”

“Whatever. Just don’t take my car again.” He waved her off and stomped out of the kitchen, leaving Kurt and Elaina with their spoils of the day. Logan stomped in directly afterwards shooting the two a questioning look.

“I guess that starts to explain why Scooter is so damn pissy. What did you do?”

“We went to the mall.” Kurt stated matter-of-factly at Logan with a nod of his head.

“That it?” You didn’t bring him back a pretzel?”

“I took his car.” Elaina spoke as juice from the apple dribbled down her chin and she hunched to catch it on the back of her hand.

“Ham, please. I don’t think the professor needs another headache.

“Ham? Like the food?” Kurt whipped his head to look at her, his eyes glowing brightly.

“Yes, like the food. It’s what they’ve called me since I was younger.”

“She doesn’t even eat ham.” Logan chuckled at the two.

“You do not like ham?”

“I don’t like a lot of things. Pork, mayonnaise, mustard, cheese most of the time, pickles, steak, a bunch of other shit.”

“Then why are you Ham?”

“It's a long story.”

“That should be your codename.” Kurt and Logan both enjoyed the joke at her expense.

“Ha Ha, I haven’t heard that already.”

“So, what do you guys have planned for the rest of the day? Other than avoiding Scooter…”

“A nap.” Elaina answered quickly, and Kurt shrugged at Logan’s question.

“Well, have fun with whatever you end up doing,”

** ___________________________**

Alarm bells. Something's wrong. There's an emergency. Eyes snapping open, energy vibrating her platelets, Elaina sprung out of bed, searching her room for any apparent intruders that would explain her sudden shock. The lights flickered in the room with the beat of her heart. Wracking her brain for possible problems left her with no solutions until she caught the characteristic flutter of panic. She pulled on shorts and wandered to the other side of the institute where she was sure someone would be crawling in the night.

She found him heaving into the toilet of the bathroom closest to his room. She reached out to faintly touch his back and he jerked back at the contact. Their eyes met, or so she assumed, and he threw his head back into the toilet. Wordlessly, impulsively, she wet a towel and flung it onto his head. She reached out to his back once again and crouched beside him. He didn’t respond this time, only going to flush and sit back against the bathtub. Flushed and tired, he breathed slowly as he creaked his eyes open.

“Did you hear me?”

“No, my room is the whole way on the other side of the institute.” She chuckled at him and looked away from his gaze.

“You were having a walk?” He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes again, fighting off another wave of nausea.

“No, I felt you.” The panic seeped out of them at this point, general conversation worked well to calm Kurt’s nerves.

“Felt?”

“Well, yeah, I’m an empath.” His eyes opened slowly at the statement as he scoffed.

“Three people have said that, I do not know what it means.”

“Oh my god.” Her eyes bugged out and hands flew up to her mouth. “Wow, okay, I didn’t even think about that. Well…” She moved to lean her back against the counter, bending her legs over his ankles. “An empath is a person that feels other people’s emotions. What you feel, I feel. We think it has a lot to do with energy but that’s not really happen—”

“Wait. You mean what I feel, you also feel? At the same time?”

“Well…yeah.”

“So when scared, happy, or…” He tilted his head at her, expecting blanks to be filled on their own. She laughed at his question.

“No, no, it’s only like the strongest emotions. Like fear, or anger, or anxiety.”

“Is that all?”

“Why?” She raised her eyebrow at him. “You worried I know something?” He avoided her look and took to inspecting his hands. “No, I don’t catch those feelings. The good ones are all yours.”

“You swear it?”

“Promise. You calm down easily so it’s not the worst thing either.”

“WAIT. You mean when I am scared you feel it? All the time? _Tut mir Leid_. I am very sorry, I did not know.” His words sped as anxiety started to catch his attention again.

“Hey, hey, take a chill pill.” She leaned forward and pushed back on his shoulder as he started to slouch. “Getting upset will make it worse. It’s not something you can help. I would rather know when you’re panicking anyway, then we can focus that. I’m not very skilled yet, but empaths should be able to influence other people’s emotions.”

“You can do that. You do it right now.” His lips turned up ever so slightly as he finished his sentence.

“I mean without any extra work. No words.” Her eyes darted around the room a few times. “I guess there’s a mother hen in me somewhere, I can’t just leave you to be all sick by yourself.”

“Thank you. I hope it is an only tonight thing. I do feel better.” He tugged his legs out from under hers and stood up, offering his hand. As their hands connected, Elaina found herself still on the ground but back in her bedroom.

“’Porting after puking seems dangerous.”

“It may be.” He winked at her, grinning wildly. His eyes caught the rest of the room and his smile melted off his face.

“It’s kinda messy, don’t look too closely at anything.” With the end of her sentence his hands dashed up to cover his eyes, the grin plastered back on.

“I promise not to look at anything. I will just sniff.”

“Unadvisable, Mr. Wagner.”

“Hmm?” He turned his ear toward her, and an eyebrow now poked out from under his palm.

“Uhhhhhhhhh…._einen Moment_.” The furred fingers barely spread as he watched her walk over her clothes to the bookshelf. She pulled out an old worn book and began to flip through the pages. His torso swiveled ever so slightly to look at the rest of her room. Clothes, a half a million water bottles, some posters that he couldn’t quite read. “No peeking!” She scowled at him from behind the book, and his fingers snapped back into place. “_Unratsam_. It is also apparently INadvisable.”

“I will not repeat the word or correct you anyway. I have already looked; can I move my hands?”

“You can go to bed.” The statement left her lips with a hint of command and Kurt peered out at her once again.

“_Gute Nacht, Frau Schlampig_.” His voice dropped an octave as he teleported out of the room, leaving Elaina with the mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter gets a little... expository.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of talk and drabble. They get some food and the teens do teenager shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is low-key because next chapter is...less low-key.

When the weekend finally hit, the institute was usually buzzing with overflow stress from the week. This week it was slathered in contempt at the hands of one fussy mutant teen. Everyone tended to avoid arguing with her because it was a losing battle, but the instructors had decided to ignore this. Kurt and Scott poked their heads around the corner, listening as intently as they could to the argument happening down the hallway.

“Will they give up?”

“They’re pretty set on making her do extra training. She seems pretty set on not doing extra training. They’ll be in there for a while. She’s gonna be pissy after this so we definitely do not want to leave without her.” The two boys shared a look of concern for their after-school snack plans. The conversation could end without conclusion, but it didn’t seem likely. The voices rose as someone on the other side moved closer to the door.

“I absolutely, positively, entirely, totally will NOT do more training. So what if you think my powers are more than they are? You can’t deal with the idea that I’m not useful; that’s not _my_ problem.” She gained volume as she reached the last sentence. She slammed the door shut behind her and breathed a deep sigh.

One of the boys let out a peep down the hallway and her head whipped in their direction. She stalked towards them as they stepped out.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. I’m hungry. Jean’s not coming?” They all turned to walk towards the foyer, not daring to interrupt her before she stopped.

“She’s got some homework she wants to get a head start on before we all get drug to hell for your attitude.” Scott glared at her through his visor.

“Hey, if they take shit out on you guys for my actions, that’s on them, not me.”

“What do they want you to do?” Kurt pushed between the two as they almost squished him behind them.

“They think I’ve got ‘hidden potential’ or some bullshit. I can’t do shit and they don’t like it because that means they can’t use me.”

“You have been here for 3 years, ja? They would have punched you out by now.”

“_Kicked_ her out. They would have _kicked_ her out.” Scott turned to look at Kurt and back to Elaina. “He’s right though, they aren’t gonna bench you just because you haven’t gotten any stronger.”

“They could if they wanted. If I’m not valuable enough.”

“You’ve been ‘valuable’ enough for that long, it won’t change now. If you’re so worried about it, you should do the training. They won’t kick you out for trying.”

“Ja, they let me stay.”

“Kurt, you’ve been here for two weeks.” Scott turned to look at him again as he unlocked the door to his car.

“Ja, but my powers are not useful.”

“They are so useful! You can go anywhere you want, like that” Elaina snapped her fingers to conclude her statement.

“If it is close and if I know where I am to go, yes.”

“Being here isn’t about how useful you are, you are both very important to the team.” Scott interrupted the two as they made their way to their dinner destination. “You should think about what you want to get from this grease pit anyway.”

“Kurt is getting a gut bomb, and I’m getting chicken nuggets, _Scott_. It’s not hard to think that way when you’re Xavier’s big gun.”

“I’m not his big gun; I’m just the leader. Any one of you could do it.”

“What does gut bomb and big gun mean?” Kurt stopped the conversation as it seemed to be grinding into an argument.

“A gut bomb is a burger you can get at Burger Bomb. A big gun is like a very important person. A V.I.P.”

“And I am to get a gut bomb?” Elaina turned in her seat to respond to Kurt.

“Yeah, I think you’ll like it. They’ve got baby bombs, breakfast bombs, baby breakfast bombs, cluckin’ bombs, baby cluckin’ bombs, veggie bombs, ba-“

“I think he gets it.” Scott interjected.

“I wouldn’t dare touch a gut bomb, which means you’ll probably like it.”

“Ja, okay!”

Scott rolled his eyes at the two as he pulled into the eatery.

Piled into the booth, they all waited for their order number to be called. Scott and Kurt shared one side while Elaina took up the other side, stretching her legs up on the seat. After a few minutes, Scott retrieved their food from the underpaid, overworked teenager. He dished out the food and tried not to watch Kurt’s reaction to the gut bomb. Proceeding its name, the burger was piled high and impossibly leaky with grease and sauce. Elaina tilted her head to watch him as she ate her nuggets. To their surprise, he didn’t bat an eyelash before squishing it down and taking a gigantic bite. They both snickered and Elaina barely seemed to be able to contain her amusement at the action.

“Is it good?” Scott grimaced slightly at the juice dripping from the burger. Kurt nodded while chewing, a piece of stray onion hanging from his lips.

“You know, I only made you get one because they’re virtually impossible to eat.”

“You know, you were right, but I can eat anything.” He spoke in between chews. “How are your bland chicken nuggets?”

“They’re absolutely perfect. Just the way I like them.”

“You guys are getting along so well, you’re like little adults.” He looked back up to see Elaina putting a piece of straw wrapper in her mouth. “What are you gonna do with that? Don’t you dare!” She leaned backward and spitballed in his direction, aiming for glasses but grazing his hair. The spitball careened over his head and stuck to the wall a few feet away. He turned to see where it landed and checked to see if anyone was looking. The same employee that gave him their food stared into the direction of the spitball, but his glazed eyes didn’t see it. Kurt and Elaina giggled wildly at the situation.

“I gotta get better, we need straws at the institute.”

“We do NOT need straws. Finish your burger and let’s get out of here.” He nodded at Kurt while taking his last bite of burger.

“What did you get Mr. Eye-Ball? A baby nerd booger?” Kurt snorted at Elaina’s question and coughed as he took the last bite of his burger. Scott pointedly ignored her.

“I must wash my hands. Then we go, okay?”

“What about our fries?” Elaina held up a carton, a fry flinging out onto the floor below her.

“Take them to go, you heathen. Shove Kurt’s in a box and let’s go.”

They met Kurt at the door and Elaina handed him his fries. Kurt ran to get to the car first, Elaina speeding behind him. As he stopped to open the door, she booty-bumped him out of the way, almost making him fall over. Scott shook his head at their antics and warned them of his dwindling patience. They both sat relatively quiet on the way home, chatting about what training they might be subjected to the next week. The car rolled into the garage and Kurt ‘ported outside of Elaina’s door.

“Do I have to pay the troll toll?”

“Ja.”

“What’ll it be?”

“The rest of your fries.” Kurt pointed to her bag that she tucked up to her chest.

“No way, I’ll eat them all right now.” She reached in the bag and started eating loose fries by the fives.

“I will just ask something else then.”

“What?”

Kurt tapped his chin at her response, leaning against the car and eyeballing Scott. He shook his head to let Kurt know he wasn’t up for consultation.

“Go on a date with me.”

“What kind of date?”

“A movie date.” He looked smug with his suggestion.

“This is blackmail. Also, I don’t want to. You can let me out, or I’ll make you.”

“Ja? How?” She reached out and pinched the back of his thigh making him jumping forward.

“I wouldn’t tussle with me. You’re practically skin and bones.” She popped open the car door and stood next to him.

“Ja, you and all 150 centimeters of you.”

“Oooh, you’re gonna get it, Fuzzball.” She slapped his chest with the bag. “You’ll need these.” He happily munched the fries from it and followed her through the door.

“Do you want to hang out?”

“And do what? We’re pretty much done playing school, we don’t have training, Jean is busy being a good student, and Scott’s probably gonna go try to get in her pants.” She turned and grinned at Scott as he glared back while parting ways.

“I do want to watch a movie. Join me?”

“Okay, but I pick. We need a classical high school movie to get you prepped for Monday.” She paused as they entered the TV lounge. She bent over the bookcase housing the various tapes they had. She felt Kurt’s eyes on her but ignored the assumptions she had. “How about _Scary Movie_? Or _Bring It On_?” Kurt shrugged at the suggestions. He had looked at them throughout the week but didn’t catch any interest in the movies.

“You choose.”

She flashed him a coy smile as he made the biggest mistake he could have at the moment.

“_O Brother, Where Art Thou?_ it is.”

“What is it about?”

“Just some guys having some fun guy time.”

They got a few minutes in, barely passed the exposition when Kurt moved several times trying to get comfortable on the couch. 

“You want some blanket? We can share the big one.” She kicked the blanket down her legs and stretched down the couch, tucking her toes under his leg.

“_Kalte Zehen_?” She wiggled her feet in reply, and he tucked the thin blanket over his shoulder. "I did not sign up to be your personal heater."

“If they weren't cold, I wouldn’t be touching you right now, so take your blessings as they come.” She raised her eyebrows at him when he didn’t respond. He copied her face and reached under the blanket to pinch her legs. She smiled from behind the blanket and retreated. “You could just ask me to move them.”

“It did not bother me.”

“Then why did you attack me?”

“To bother you.”

“Are _your_ feet cold? They’re always out and about.”

“I have shoes now.”

“Yeah, but you don’t always wear them. Like you don’t have socks for the house.”

“If they are cold, I will just find you and put them under you.”

“Does your tail get cold?”

“Sometimes. I can sit on that myself.” He raised his eyebrow and twitched his tail beneath the blanket.

“Does it have bones?”

“Ja, I have not broken any, but you can feel them.” She held her hand out and he reached over to high five it.

“No, you dork. Let me see your tail.” He hissed air between his teeth and looked to her.

“Are you sure?”

“I mean if you want. You don’t have to.”

His weight shifted and he leaned against the arm of the couch, pulling his legs under the blanket. His tail whipped out from under the blanket and missed her hand, thumping her leg. She picked it up and he resisted the urge to send it flying again.

“Just don’t pull it.”

“Does it hurt?”

“It does.” He watched her turn the spade in her hands as she inspected it. She traced her finger up the ridge that connected spade to tail and it shivered in her fingers.

“Ticklish tail!” She did it again and he pulled it from her grasp, tucking it back under the blanket. It continued to wiggle for a few seconds before settling. She stretched and tucked her legs back under him once again and he ignored the action this time. His tail, however, did not and slithered against her leg under the weight of the blanket. “That felt…” She started to chuckle as she looked to him and he froze completely. “…okay.”

“Weird?” He started to pull it back, slapping it against the back of the couch.

“I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. Leave it there.”

They both settled into their movie and shared warmth until Elaina succumbed to a nap. Kurt didn’t notice for most of the movie until he snapped up to point out that she sang one of the songs from the movie a few days ago. She mumbled in response and sank further down the couch, her legs now laying along his. With the end of the movie, Ororo poked her head in to let them know it was dinnertime. At that point, she could only see Kurt. She asked if he had seen Elaina and he wordlessly tugged the blankets off her. She blinked back at him, clearly disgusted with the action, and shoved him with her foot. Ororo smiled and informed Kurt that waking her wouldn’t be necessary or a well-received action. He nodded back and took time to slowly unwind his tail from her leg. Ororo waited for him to leave the lounge before walking with him to the dining room. Scott and Jean were already there along with the professor.

“How was the movie date?” Scott questioned Kurt as soon as he walked in.

“I do not think it was a date, but the movie was good. Elaina fell asleep.”

“Not surprising.”

“She’s probably got a busy night planned. It is Friday,” Jean winked at Kurt.

“Elaina is still grounded,” Charles interjected.

“That hasn’t stopped her before.”

“Let’s hope she’s just a little more behaved this weekend.”

“She does not like to behave, ja?” Kurt smiled as he leaned forward and questioned the group.

“Yeah, she’s a hoodlum, and you’re pushing your luck, Kurt. She could’ve knocked your teeth out for the movie date question,” Scott informed him.

“She’s nice to me.” He shrugged and smirked at Scott.

“She didn’t agree to it.”

“But we did watch a movie together. Mostly.”

“Yes, they were both curled up nicely, sharing a blanket and everything,” Ororo backed up Kurt’s claim and Jean ooh’d in response.

“She must be touch-starved to let that happen.”

“I’m sure _that_ won’t be a problem tomorrow.”

The conversation moved on to other plans for the weekend and the preparation for Kurt to attend school. After almost an hour and dinner had been cleaned up, everyone moved into different parts of the institute, Scott and Jean both deciding on taking a walk and Charles and Ororo elected to jumpstart the danger room programming for the next week. Kurt crept into the TV lounge and found abandoned blankets and static on the TV. He left the search there and settled in for a long call home. A few hours later, a knock came from Kurt’s balcony. Elaina jumped out from behind the wall in an attempt to scare him.

“It didn’t get you?”

“I saw you move. How did you get up here?”

“Don’t worry about it. Do you wanna go somewhere tonight?”

“You’re still grounded, ja?”

“Yeah, but that’s whatever. When aren’t I grounded, ya know?”

“You will get in more trouble.”

“But it’s Friday! It’s time to party! Do you wanna come?”

“No, too many people.”

“Oh, right. Well, I figured I’d at least offer. Have a good night.” She hopped over the railing and tumbled onto the ground, disappearing into the tree line.

* * *

It wasn’t until Kurt’s routine stomach upset that she came back, almost 2am by that time. She stumble-walked down the boy’s hallway, keeping one hand outstretched towards the wall. Leaning on the doorframe, she took in Kurt’s disheveled appearance against the bathtub as she had days before. The smell of alcohol was more prominent than her slur, giving away what she so desperately had tried to sober up for.

“Fun night in the Xavier School for Gifted Fuckers.”

“You smell.”

“Do men just always know what to say?”

“What?”

“That was sarcasm. You’re good at it, so I don’t need to teach you that, although it is easier than algebra,” she rambled. “See, like, why is it that a guy waits until he’s balls deep to be like ‘haha what’s it gonna take to get it in the backdoor?’”

“What?” Kurt squinted at her this time, half-accepting that he most likely wouldn’t understand what she was trying to say.

“Like some men are just bad at talking and not very smart, and some of them are good at talking and very smart, but there’s like a weird middle guy that is not good at talking and smart enough to wait until you’re in bed to let you know that.”

“Which one am I?”

“You’re Kurt, duh,” she rolled her eyes and dropped her hand at her side. “How do you feel?”

“Better than you will tomorrow."

“Better than you on Monday, right?” She pointed and moved to slunk down next to him. “You nervous?”

“You can’t tell?”

“Kurt, I’m a little drunk, I can barely tell the time.”

“I am very nervous. Is it scary?”

“Listen, Kurt, my boy,” she lifted her hand high, let it fall to his knee, and patted it. “It is very scary. But everything is. It is all terribly scary and terrible and it sucks. Some of the teachers are assholes, and most of the kids are assholes and you might end up being an asshole,” she drawled on, waving her hand lazily in the air. She sunk down to lean on his shoulder. “People are assholes. You aren’t. So, to combat this, the professor has provided you a secondary asshole.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna be with you most of the day. And if anyone gives you shit, I’ll beat their asses. Remember?”

“Ja, I remember you saying that.”

“No one is gonna feel your fur, you’re gonna wear your suit, right? So, that’s not an issue. You’ve got your fancy watch, right? So, no one is gonna see you. You’re new, they’re gonna be interested and ask you questions and ask about Germany and that’s okay.”

“What if I do not know the answer?”

“So what? Lie. They aren’t gonna check.”

“That will work?"

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“Just go for it. Do improv. Just smile and shrug. If I’m around, I’ll dig you out.” He tucked his legs into his chest and rested his chin on them. She continued to lean on him, this time just against his back. “If you start to feel overwhelmed it’s okay to take a minute too. Go hide in the bathroom.”

“I am worried about the people. You said they are assholes.”

“Yeah, but like they’ll be nice to you, you’re new.”

“You are sure?”

“Positive.”

“Pinky swear?”

“I’m not pinky swearing on other people, Kurt. What do I look like?”

“You look like you have been drinking.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“How much trouble do you think you are in?”

“I don’t know. Some. Maybe a little more than that.”

“And you met a boy?”

“Not the word I would use, but yes.”

“What’s his name?”

“Malachi.”

“Are you going to date him now?”

“No, he was annoying and an unapologetic two-pump-chump.”

“A what?”

“You know like…” She produced the universal motion and counted off with a raspberry at the end.

“Then why did you…” Kurt trailed off and turned to read her face. She smirked back at him.

“Why did I what?”

“You know….” He trailed off again and waved his arms in front of him.

“I don’t, Kurt. What does _this_ mean?” She giggled at him and copied his movements.

“Why did you have sex with him?”

“For fun. Shits and giggles. It was safe, and I’m never gonna talk to him again probably. I also told him I was probably never gonna talk to him again.”

“It’s that simple.”

“When you’re me, it is. It isn’t that simple for you?”

“You think I have ever?” He scoffed back at her and looked back out through the bathroom.

“Have you?” He shoved into her side with his at the question. “Kurt, plenty of kids our age haven’t fucked, and plenty have. Some don’t even know it’s a thing and some are like total experts. Where are you on the scale?”

“Right above not knowing it is a thing.”

“Your parents never gave you the safe sex talk? Or told you how much you shouldn’t do it?”

“My parents are not those kinds of people.”

“Is it a religion thing?”

“Part of it, maybe some modesty.”

“Everyone I know found out in like 3rd grade. One kid walks in on their parents and then they tell some people and those people tell other people. Who told you?” She leaned further on him, tucking her arms into his side, seeking the warmth of his body. He chuckled and stared down at his hands.

“You would laugh if I told you.”

“Only if it’s a funny story. You’re laughing about it already, so that means it’s gonna be funny or embarrassing right?”

“I suppose.”

“Then spill the beans. Who taught Kurt Wagner about the lovely world of procreation?” He started biting at the skin around his nails as he turned towards her.

“My parents raise horses.”

“Okay.” Her nonchalant reply earned more ambiguous hand motions. “What?”

“Horses do it the same way people do it.”

“OOOOhhhh, okay. Yeah. Did you like figure it out or…”

“I asked what they were doing once and my father said ‘they are making a baby’ and that was it.” He chuckled at the memory and Elaina smiled back at him.

“Well, it’s much more elegant when people do it.”

“Ja?”

“And I’m guessing not as messy as horses?”

“I would assume.”

“You’ll get laid one day. It’ll be fun.”

“I’m so sure.”

“Are you that worried about it right now?”

“I am _now_.”

“It’ll be okay though. Just be honest with the person about your experience and what you’re comfortable with and ask for help when you need it.”

“Ask for help?”

“Yeah, no one knows a body like the owner. They know what to do.”

“So, I am furry, and mutant, and also completely uneducated on relationships and sex, and you still think I will get laid?”

“Don’t waste your time on someone that can’t handle those parts of you.”

“What if that is everyone?”

“It’s not. I promise. I _will_ pinky swear on that.” He smiled back at her and held up his pinky finger that she readily took. “If it helps, the first time isn’t much to look forward to anyway.”

“Why?”

“It’s awkward and there’s nothing that will prepare you for how clumsy it is, or how wet it is, or the smells or taste or anything. Ugh, and if it’s disappointing, it’s even worse.”

“Why?”

“Because it just reminds you that you’re probably the best you’re ever gonna get.”

“Then I should not even try.” He grinned at her and nudged her with his elbow.

“That’s only if it’s disappointing.” She yawned and settled deeper into his side, closing her eyes slowly.

“Jean said you would not be touch hungry after tonight, but she was wrong, ja?”

“Oh, I’m touch starved? Is that what she said?”

“Yes.”

“I get touched far more often than she does, it’s fine. Wait until you meet her boyfriend.”

“I thought she and Scott…”

“Nope. He just pines after her and she trails him along.”

“Ouch.”

“Big ouch. One day though, I think they’ll get together. I think they’re afraid of settling.”

“Settling?”

“Yeah, like they want to have a sample before they order an entrée.”

“Ah.”

“A lot of people are like that, don’t worry.”

“Are you like that?”

“I’m not really looking to be committed. I’m okay with just doing what I want.”

“What do you want?”

“What anyone else wants, I guess. Be happy. Enjoy myself for a little bit.”

“But you did not enjoy yourself, you said it was disappointing.”

“Yeah, but everything else was fun.”

“Worth the punishment?”

“Maybe, we’ll see tomorrow.”

“Does the professor punish you for everything you do while you are out?”

“I think so? I think he tends to lean more towards punishing me for breaking the rules and the law, but nothing else. Like I might get a week of something for breaking the grounding and a week of something for underage drinking, but I’m not gonna get a week for having sex. I don’t know that he would ever punish anyone for that anyway, unless it was like public or unsafe.”

“Why?”

“Well, if it’s not hurting anyone, who cares? He knows it’s a fight I would win anyway. People should be able to enjoy the things they do without repercussion. As long as no one is getting hurt, who cares?”

“That is not how many people see it.”

“Many people might be wrong, though.” She yawned again and rubbed her face on his shoulder, signaling the end of their late-night conversation. “Are you ready for bed?”

“You are.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I am.”

Kurt stood up first and offered to help the other teen stand up. As she stood, her balance wavered, and she grabbed for the counter. Kurt’s hand came before the counter and he let her stabilize before offering to walk her back to her room. She denied and tried to walk forward but only found the ability to giggle and lean harder against his hand. They slowly traversed through the institute; Kurt had decided to just tag along without bringing it to her attention again. She leaned into him at various times, mimicking their walk through the mall not too long ago. When they reached her room, he let go and watched her stumble through the room, due in part to the mess of clothes and various items littering the ground, and the lingering drunkenness. Kurt bore his eyes into the ground as she stripped off her pants and bra before bundling into the blankets. She asked him to close the door and wished him a surprisingly put together good night. He bamfed back into his own room and struggled to avoid thinking about the events of the night and the gnawing idea that she wasn’t touch starved; she was just taken with Kurt in a way that was both unquestionably invigorating and incredibly terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this one!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the perfect mix of drabble and development. Possibly. Someone gets in trouble at school, someone else just wants love, someone else is getting GRUMPY. They might all be one person, but that's up to you to decide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoy!!!!!

The first day of classes for Kurt had gone off without a hitch; nothing spectacular or disastrous occurring, much like hundreds of other school days. They had established a calm routine around school and training that helped Kurt find some peace at the institute. This was usually interrupted by the requirements of the danger room, leaving Jean and Scott to do the heavy work while Elaina and Kurt took the backseat to any combat situation. When it came to problem-solving, they excelled with the addition of the teleporter. It made things easier, as any addition to the team should.

Their classes for the day were almost over and sitting in U.S. history was a horrid end to the day for the teens. Elaina usually fell asleep while Kurt sat next to her, buzzing to tear out of the room. The teacher walked to the back of the room where she sat and kicked the bottom of her desk, causing her to open her eyes long enough to snarkily pass off the idea that she wasn’t sleeping. He returned to the front of the room to continue explaining World War II. She turned to Kurt and sunk into her chair, propping her feet on the metal bar of his desk. He turned to see her looking squished with a double chin and shoulders drawn the whole way to her ears. He gave her a quick poke with his pencil and went back to practically vibrating in his chair.

As the bell rang, he darted upwards and shoved the tattered book into his bag before waiting for her to stand. Scott waited for them outside the room, taking third-wheel position as they moved down the hallway discussing plans for the day and rides home.

“I think I might walk today.” Hannah leaned back to speak more directly to Scott.

“You’re supposed to go right to the mansion. You’re grounded still, remember?”

“I’m gonna be grounded until the end of time, so it’s fine.”

“I believe the idea of punishment is that it makes you stop doing bad things, yes?” Kurt interjected.

“Well, isn’t that someone else’s problem, isn’t it?” She put her hands on her hips, finding her elbow in another student’s lower back. The crowd around her stuffed the hallway as the three tried to move through it to claim Jean before heading in separate directions. Elaina pushed through the crowd that seemed to part for her as the boys followed.

“How does she get through so easily? I cannot do much with running into someone or being shoved to the side.”

“It’s her attitude. She’s got a rep.”

“A rep?”

“Yeah, a reputation. It’s like being known for something. She’s known for being a huge asshole.” At Scott’s words, she turned to glare at him instead of at the general population of the hallway.

“She looks like she could murder someone if she wanted,” Kurt observed.

“That proves my point. People move for that.”

“It’s just the face. She’s all bark and no bite.” Jean popped into the conversation, earning another glare as they neared the doors to leave.

“Oh, I would not say that. She punched a kid today.”

“For real? She knows better than that.”

“Ja, it was awesome.” Kurt and Jean turned to see Scott’s reaction, only to catch him reaching out to grab her shoulder.

“You are absolutely not walking home, the professor is gonna blow a gasket if you get in more trouble!”

“Sure, yelling at me has good results, Scott. You can’t make me do shit.” She turned with more gusto in her step as they exited the building.

“Are you at least gonna make it back at some point? You know how—”

“Yeah, Scott, I know how much trouble I’m in or how mad he is or whatever.” She waved him off and slunk into step with two other people.

“She’s gonna get into more trouble.” Jean plopped her bag into Scott’s car and leaned on the door.

“Probably.”

“Should we try and stop her?” Kurt motioned between the two, still ready to expel all of the built up energy from the day.

“I already did, she’s not gonna listen. Let’s just go home.” The car ride was mostly silent until Scott remembered the initial situation that got Elaina in trouble for the day. “Did she really punch someone today?”

“Oh, ja. We were in math and someone was laughing at my accent. I have never seen anyone get smacked that fast before.”

“Hmm. Did she at least go nicely to the principal’s office?”

“She did not say anything to Mrs. Carter, she just left.”

“Did she come back?”

“Not until history.”

“That’s not good. Principal Darkholme can be harsh.”

“Well, she did punch a student,” Jean added.

“That’s like 2 periods for her though, isn’t it?”

“Ja, she was gone for fifth and sixth period.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked the professor to go down to the school.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she just yelled at her for an hour and a half either,” Jean included.

As they pulled around the fountain, their three instructors stood at the doorway, looking not too pleased. They greeted the students, who tensed even more as the weight of Elaina’s absence pressed on them.

“Is she in a lot of trouble?” Kurt questioned.

“Frankly, yes, Kurt. She’s nearing expulsion.”

“Like getting expelled?”

“Yes.”

“So she has to leave?” The other two had joined Kurt across from the instructors at this point and both seemed equally concerned and unsurprised at the development.

“Not yet, they’re giving her a final chance. If another incident occurs, she will be forced out of the school district.” Charles tented his fingers in front of his mouth, eyebrows drawn together. “Do you know where she went?” The three teens shook their heads in reply.

“I’ll go find her; she won’t come back for anyone else.” Logan started down the stairs, turning towards the professor. “Last at the school?”

“Yeah. She was heading into the city. Why are you going if the professor can just locate her?" Scott asked, unsure of their reasoning.

"Do you really think she's gonna come back for the professor?" Jean quipped back at him. Scott shrugged in return and Logan caught their attention again.

“I’ll call if I end up not bringing her home.”

“Thank you, Logan.” The rest of the group moved into the institute as Logan walked to the garage. In the doorway, Scott clapped his hand on Kurt’s droopy shoulder.

“Do you wanna go get a gut bomb?”

“No, I am not very hungry.” Kurt sighed out and bamfed from the room, leaving them in a cloud of sulfur.

* * *

Logan sniffed the air as he neared the school, locking in on her familiar scent. He followed the trail to a duplex near the heart of Bayville. He found the trail mingling with questionable scents, one that was unmistakably drug related and a few other people. He thudded on the door and it scooted open to reveal a kid not quite Elaina’s age. He asked for Elaina, and once she appeared at the door he only asked for a walk. She accepted and pulled the door shut without a word. A few minutes into the walk, she finally spoke.

“Are you here to yell at me?”

“Nah."

"Why?"

"Don’t want to. That’s Chuck’s job.”

“And what’s your job?”

“Teach teenagers how to kick ass.”

“So why are you here?”

“Well, given that Chuck is just dying to keep you in school, I’m here to make sure you go tomorrow.”

“Not to make me go home?”

“No, we both know that’s not how it works around here.”

“I was gonna go to school tomorrow.”

“You know, Elf was just jittery when he talked about you knocking that kid on his ass. ‘Heard him the whole way down the lane.” He peeked at Elaina, who had just stared back at him. “He was all perked up until he found out what expulsion meant. Made him all droopy.”

“You told him?”

“I didn’t, Charles did. Figured it would be better to just have it out there, ‘stead of making it a surprise when you get kicked out of school.”

“I’m not gonna get kicked out, Logan.”

“You will if you don’t figure out how to pick your fights.”

“He was making fun of him.”

“So? Elf’s tough, he can handle it.”

“He shouldn’t have to.”

“He’s gonna have to, and you’re gonna let him.”

“What did he say?”

“Elf? He didn’t say much, shocking as that is. Kid hasn’t really shut up since he picked up more English.”

“Oh.”

“He did say he wasn’t hungry, heard that through the door.”

“_Oh_.”

“I’m not gonna make you come back, but I will make you feel like shit if you don’t.”

“I don’t really wanna deal with Xavier right now.”

“Well, you can’t avoid him forever. And, Elf is gonna lock himself in his room if he doesn’t have his other half.”

“Yeah? Is that what it looks like?”

“It’s what it is. He likes you and you like him, so go deal with it.”

“I don’t like him.”

“You sure spend a lot of time with him. Take care of him, feed him, hug him, call him George. All that.”

“I’m not interested in draining any fuzzballs, Logan.”

“The way I see it, you both act better and get way less pissy when you’re around each other. I like it when the hormonal teens I live with are less moody.”

“So you’ll take horny over moody?”

“No one said anything about anybody being horny, Teeny.” Their conversation fell into silence as Elaina dug her hands into her pockets. A few minutes passed before another spoke.

“I’ll come home.”

“And be good. Finish your punishment and probation, and then stay good.”

“Yeah. All that.”

“Then I’ll give you a ride back. We can head back to the weed shack so you can pick up your stuff. _And_ leave that skunk there.”

She nodded and turned on her heel to head back towards the apartment. Later she smushed her face against Logan’s back as they circled around to go back the mansion on his motorcycle. The shared warmth between them was sweet and they both knew it but couldn't overcome their hang ups to admit it. Upon arrival, Charles and Ororo greeted them in the foyer. She walked through the institute after hearing how her punishment would work out over the next few weeks. Kurt popped next to her as she drifted outside.

“How much trouble are you in?”

“I’m on laundry and dish duty for the next two weeks, extra training with Logan, grounded for the next month, and also on probation for the next two months. It’s not as bad as it could’ve been,” she explained, sighing in between words.

“I would say so. Do you want to hang out?”

“Wanna read in the same room?”

“You could read our history homework to me.”

“Kurt, I know English. You should be reading to me.”

“You’ve got me. Read to me anyway?”

“It’s like 6 now, we can go eat, and I’ll read half to you and then switch. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds terrible.”

“I’m not gonna be there to punch people the next time you have to say something.”

“Then teach me to punch people!” He chuckled and bumped into her shoulder as they walked around the grounds of the institute.

“That’s not my job. I was your academic tutor, not your combat tutor or life tutor or kick-ass tutor.” Her words turned to grumbles as they neared the pool.

“Are you okay?”

“Never better, Elf.”

“I do not believe you.”

“I’ll try to be more convincing,” she deadpanned.

“Hey.” He stopped and turned her to face him. “You only have a month of trouble. Then we can do whatever you want.”

“That’s not bugging me, I doubt I’ll even finish it anyway.”

“Then what’s bugging you?”

“The whole thing. It’s all shitty. If I get into anymore trouble, I get expelled.”

“I’m not even entirely sure of what that means.”

“It means I probably can’t stay at the institute.”

“Do you think?”

“I’m pretty sure. I think I would have been kicked out of the institute a lot sooner if I were anyone else.”

“Why, are you special?”

“If the professor kicks me out, I’m pretty much homeless.”

“Oh…” They continued walking and Kurt eventually leaned closer to grab her attention. “You can go live with my parents. They would like you.”

“Yeah?” She chuckled as she replied. “I’m sure I would behave for them.”

“You make it seem like you choose to misbehave here.”

“I guess I do. At least the professor makes it seem that way.”

“He is right though. Just stop hitting people.”

“I guess. You think I shouldn’t have done it?”

“I would not have punched him. But I appreciate you doing it. I would appreciate you never doing it again.”

“Why?” She smirked up at him, an eyebrow raised in questioning.

“What would I do without my partner in crime?”

“You’d find a new one. People like you.”

“People that don’t know me like me.”

“You think that matters?”

“I think people would stop liking me if they saw me.”

“People like that aren’t worth it anyway.”

“Then no one is worth it, minus you and our instructors and maybe Scott.”

“Not Jean?”

“She has not talked to me much.”

“But she’s still nice to you.”

“She is nice to you. She also says things about you when you are not there.”

“That’s not shocking.”

“You do not care to hear it?”

“Nah, if she’s not gonna say it to my face, what’s the point?”

“Does she talk about me?” Kurt tilted his head to see her better as she contemplated the question.

“Not that I can remember. Nothing significant. People at school think you’re cool though."

“They call me ‘German kid.’ it’s weird.”

“It’s your identifying feature there.”

“It is weird how that is my identifying feature.” They fell into silence and Elaina eventually looped her arm through his as goosebumps started to prickle her skin. Kurt had experienced enough Elaina to know that moments with her were to be enjoyed and not acknowledged. As soon as reality became real to her, it was interrupted. This included the reality of softer actions, her taking comfort in him, and the reality of harsher decisions. He was used to smiling to the top of her head and the small touches that filled him with excitement. This grand gesture was more than that but could never be addressed as such. Her motives and feelings were a mystery, and he doubted he would be able to figure out what she got from it this time or last time or next time. The question continued to bother him until he finally made a decision. “I’m starving and you are freezing. Let’s go inside.”

She nodded and he patted her hand to let her know a teleport was coming. They bamfed to the kitchen and smells of food were already filling it. Scott and Jean had gotten takeout while Ororo worked on some kind of leftovers. Kurt leaned down to whisper in Elaina’s ear, not wanting to draw attention.

“Do you wanna just go get food?”

“I’m not allowed to leave, remember?”

“I can go.”

“Are you sure? You’ve never been out alone before.” He rested his hand on her back and drummed his fingers, another ‘port coming again. He took them to his room, and they started speaking normally.

“I can do it; it will be fine. What do you want?”

“Pizza?”

“Just pepperoni?” He smirked at her, turning to open the balcony doors.

“Yeah, just pepperoni. That a problem?” She dropped her voice to mock him.

“It is boring, but not a problem.”

“I can give you cash later.” He nodded and bamfed from the room, leaving Elaina to lean against the balcony.

It was evident that Kurt had relaxed into his room, a pair of pants or two crumpled on the floor, various papers strewn on his desk, but nothing too particularly “Kurt” lived in the room. Unless you peered closely at the spines of some books and had the knowledge that no one else in the institute owned any books in German, you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone had lived there for more than a few days. Her eyes roved over to his dresser and curiosity hummed in the back of her mind. Striding over, she barely reached for a knob when the strings in her mind strummed an anxiety-induced tune. Would Kurt care and did she care to deal with him caring? Assuming he found out of course. She drummed the wood in front of her instead. Keeping his company would be worth more than what she might find in his sock drawer, and if she played her cards right, he would just show his sock drawer anyway. She flopped onto the bed for the first time and found that something did actually indicate that Kurt lived there. His sheets, his pants, and his books all carried trace amounts of the blue fur he carried everywhere. She rolled over and began picking the loose hairs off her clothes and later the bedding. Minutes passed before Kurt popped back in carrying a new scent and a questioning look.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s called dry cleaning.” She plopped the pizza on the bed and marveled at the delicious cheese pull that might be enough to turn her stomach.

“I don’t think that is what that means.” He pulled off his overshirt and sat down cross legged next to her.

“How much was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Kurt, we’re gonna fight.”

“Consider it a second date.”

“Yeah? I don’t believe we had a first one.”

“We watched a movie together. You even rolled over and went to sleep.”

“If it was a date with me, _you_ would have been the one rolling over and going to sleep.”

“Is that so?” He chuckled at her and nudged her with his shoulder. He finished a slice and grabbed another for them both when he noticed fur on it. “_Tut mir Leid_, you can have this one.”

“There’s fur on that one too.” She giggled out along her answer.

He drooped even further and she patted his forearm to get his attention.

“It’s just fur, Kurt.”

“You are gonna eat fur?”

“It’s not gonna kill me. Besides, the way things are going, it won’t be the last time I get some fur in my mouth anyway.” She winked and elbowed his side. He gave her a wry smile and picked up the other piece.

“You joke too seriously sometimes.”

She leaned back on the bed, having finished her second slice, and pointed her feet. A groan resounded through the room as she stretched her limbs as far as they would allow. The various pops and groan drew the attention of her companion. She sighed and opened her eyes to see his pale face peering back at her. With another grin she arched her back and pulled her arms far above her head, accompanied by a small moan and sigh.

“Like what you see?”

“You flirt too much.”

“You make it easy, Nightcrawler.”

He slid the pizza onto the ground and leaned back, taking care to not find himself too close to her.

“Scott has told me I flirt too much with you. And also, that you only allow me to do it.”

“Well, ya. I wouldn’t want you to go into high school pulling dumbass lines on the girls there.” She grinned at him and poked his stomach. “They’re gonna start to be interested in you, ya know. You’re getting too trimmed down.”

“You think I have lost weight?”

“You definitely have less of a belly.”

“What would you know of bellies?” He poked her back and rolled onto his side, propped up by his arm. “I’m sure people were interested in you before you got all…” He waved his hand slowly, trying to find the right word.

“Chiseled? Ripped? Buff? Absolutely shredded?”

“Ja, that’s what I was thinking.” He gave his sarcastic reply and eye roll at once.

“People were more interested before I got so grumpy. Now it’s just the stray guy that thinks they’re special.” Elaina nearly admitted to regretting the words when she caught the smallest hint of Kurt drooping at them. “It’s kinda boring. They aren’t at all interested in me, just what I might be able to do for them.” He met her eyes again, less discourage showing through. “Like it’s never a big secret when I do stuff with someone. They always brag like they deserve a trophy.”

“And you allow them?” He raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. She stared at the ceiling and picked at the blanket next to her. After a few seconds she turned her head to face him and felt his tail beat against the mattress behind him.

“I guess I do.”

“It does not seem to match your attitude to allow that.”

“I guess it doesn’t,” she murmured as she looked back up at the popcorned ceiling. It’s wisps and curls followed her wavered thoughts until Kurt interrupted her.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up, if it upset you.”

“No, it’s important to think about these things.” She smiled weakly at him. “It doesn’t really make sense, you’re right. I think I just allow it because it suits me. When it doesn’t, it’s whatever.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds and Kurt rolled back to find faces he’s never seen in the ceiling. With astounding speed, he turned back and poked her side.

“Do you really think people are going to be interested in me?”

“Kurt, someone is getting hot and bothered by that accent whether you like it or not.”

“Really?” He nodded his head as he questioned her. “Are you saying that because you know something?”

“Kurt. Buddy. Pal. I promise teenage girls are just as horny as teenage boys, they’re just limited in stimuli.”

“I do not believe that.”

“Maybe you’re just an exceptionally horny guy then.” He didn’t respond to her joke and instead rolled onto his back once again. “Kurt, it was a joke. You’re probably just regular horny.”

“You said you could not sense that.”

“I can’t! It was just a joke. The pipes aren’t coated in jizz yet, so I’d say we’re good.”

“Does that really happen?”

“I’ve read about it, never witnessed it—thank fuck. It sounds like it might be true.” She shrugged and rolled to face him. “When it happens, I’ll blame you though.”

“Please do not.”

“It’s either you or Scott, so take your pick.”

“Scott knows only one kind of stiff.”

Elaina snorted at Kurt’s joke and flopped onto her stomach.

“The bed is not that big, you’re going to push me off.”

She scooted closer and felt the human pressure against her leave as fast as it was attained.

“You afraid of touching me now? Like I haven’t held your hair while you puked and picked you up off the ground?”

“No, you are just on my bed.” He leaned further away and spotted teeth through the gap in her arms.

“Uh huh, the bed is the problem.” She turned her head away and sighed into the pillow pulled close to her face. He settled down this time, letting them barely touch. “If you really want me to move, I will. You are just _so_ fun to tease.”

“Remember when you said you were not touch starved?”

“I am still not. I am, however, sleepy.”

“You are always sleepy.” He pushed against her side and she scooted away, smiling when his light touch returned.

“And you are so good at letting me be sleepy.” She sighed again and found another remnant that was so very Kurt. The pillow had latent smells of floral shampoo and an even harder to pick out sulfurous smell. It was inherently Kurt. No one else carried quite the smell with them, nor could you identify it without smelling a ‘port beforehand. It wasn't enough to smell necessarily_ bad_, it just had a hint of _something_. His hand brushed against her as he pulled the blanket over, tucking it between them. She faced him again and met his eyes, widened with interest in her intentions. She smiled and settled back into the pillow.

“You should practice playing with hair, girls love when you do that.” She opened one eye at him and rolled it as he reached up to twirl his own bangs.

“Oh, you meant your hair?” He tilted his head at her, a loose smile plastered on his face, the effects of a warm pizza and bed and body taking effect. “I might do it, but I’m concerned for the meaning behind this. You say I should practice flirting as to not embarrass myself. Why do I need you to learn to play with hair?”

“You don’t. But I might teach you something else if you’re lucky and I’m grateful.”

“Ja? Like what?”

“We’ll decide once the transaction is complete.”

“Is it not a rule in America to discuss payment before rendering a service?”

“Whoa, someone’s breaking out the big words. Look at you go.” She drew her eyebrows up and waited for him to bite back.

“It will not be so easy. That is why we must agree on the terms.”

“What would you like in return for some hair attention?”

“I would consider a date as proper payment.”

“You’re gonna make me fall asleep in your bed so that I’ll promise you a date?”

"It seems like that.”

She chewed on the thought before nodding to the arrangement.

“One real date, in exchange for you play with my hair right now.”

One corner of his mouth turned up and his arm laid against her back as he seemed to carefully pick out locks to twirl. She sighed and reached up to grab his hand and brought it closer to the nape of her neck.

“It’s a date, not a phone call. Get in there.”

“My apologies, I suspected you might enjoy a lighter touch.”

She snorted and turned away from him, leaving most of her hair to his ministrations. A few minutes passed before her breathing slowed even deeper and he closed his eyes in attempt to map out the feeling of hair and the curve of her neck meeting her skull. Within the same minute, Xavier popped into their heads to remind them of the danger room session that was to take place—with Logan. Their eyes snapped open and they jumped up, Kurt nearly stepping on the leftover pizza.

“Port me to my room! I need to get dressed.”

“Hold on!” Kurt grabbed his suit from the dresser and grabbed Elaina’s hand, popping them to her room. They both took to stripping, making sure to give courtesy by facing away from each other. Kurt sat up from pulling on his shoes to see he had been facing the mirror and could easily see her bouncing into the suit. His hands dashed to his face and he contemplated whether she would notice him peek. He shook the thoughts from his head and focused instead on making his tail relax behind him as it had taken to battering her calves and thighs.

“Kurt, you’re gonna take my eye out if you keep doing that.”

“Sorry.”

“You good?”

“Ja, just hanging out.”

She peeked around him until she realized the issue he faced. Literally.

“Oohoho, did you look?”

“No!” He threw his arms down and scowled at her, trying his best to not look like a bruised blueberry.

“We’re moving so quickly, Kurt. First, laying in bed and now stripping in front of each other? And you haven’t even taken me to dinner.” He scrunched up even more, avoiding her eyes, not trying to hide the grimace. Her laugh died off at the sight of him, and she cleared her throat. “It’s okay, I don’t think you saw anything on purpose. You’re too good for that.”

She reached out her hand and at the contact felt her face take on a layer of lava and her smile creep back on, this time relentless. He still avoided looking at her, focusing more on the beating of his heart and the stupid, annoying heat under his fur.

“Hey.” She took his other hand and twisted in front of him until he gave in to meeting her eyes. “It really is okay. I almost went through your stuff when you went to get pizza, so we’re even.”

“You what?!”

“Almost. I thought about it. But I didn’t. And like now we both have a reason to be embarrassed.” He took a deep breath and met her gaze again.

“Thank you for not doing that.”

Xavier spoke in their heads once again, with less reminder and more warning. He squeezed her hand, the universe squeezed their bodies, and they opened their eyes to the control room of the danger room.

“Where the hell were you two? You’re late!” Wolverine barked at them before the smell could dissipate, maybe even before it had appeared. Kurt’s eyes widened at him and he started shrinking when Elaina interrupted what may have been a serious scolding.

“I was napping, Logan. You can yell at me OR you can get through this session before 8pm if you really want to.” He grumbled in response and turned back to the control panels. Jean gave them both a sympathetic look before winking at Kurt.

“You’re just working on point A to point B. Nothing too hard, level one for the newly acquired hardware. Do we need to go over the rules?” Four heads shook back at him and he dismissed them to the room waiting below.

They arrived in the room, finding a barren hallway. It seemed easy; flat, metal walls with the directive in sight—the big red button that freed them from the weight of their training.

Cyclops ordered them into a diamond formation, Jean taking up the back with Nightcrawler and Flux on the sides, the leader leading.

“There’s no way it’ll be this easy, stick together and be alert.”

“Do we wanna take bets now? Will the walls move, or will we move?” Elaina questioned him absentmindedly.

“What does that even mean? No. stay on task.”

Flux recognized the beating of Nightcrawler’s tail against her legs and the crunching feeling that something was going to go wrong and inevitably, they wouldn’t be able to handle it. Fleeing the hallway seemed more and more alluring as they took steps. She peeked back down to their entrance and found it was a few feet away. They had only taken a few steps. She cursed Kurt within her mind and tried to will him some confidence, relief, or even grit. Neither of them would make it through another session if he couldn’t chill out.

The familiar whirring of electricity and metal sliding let them know something was coming, but inconceivably so, they wouldn’t be able to tell until it happened. Nightcrawler’s steps faltered and he dropped next to Jean. Scott barked for them to stay together when a wall shot out, effectively splitting Flux from the group. The objective followed her upwards as the rooms shifted and disoriented the team.

Cyclops called out to her from the group of three, not reaching her. She ignored any sense of what she should have done and dashed for the button. The floor rotated, matching her speed, and stunting any progress. She panted lightly, debating on the possibilities. The whirring and scraping started again and she braced for another transition. The room stayed still but the sound of Cyclops broke through the walls and reached her.

“I can’t move! The room won’t let me!”

“Stay there! We’ll come to you.” Cyclops called back, keeping his eyes on his end of the hallway. “Nightcrawler, do you think you can teleport to the button?”

“Has it moved?”

“Yes! I can see it,” Flux yelled through the walls, ending her words quickly to listen for a response.

“Then no. I cannot.”

Cyclops pursed his lips at Kurt’s reply and examined the room they were in.

“Let’s move forward and see what comes of it. It’s supposed to catch us off guard, so nothing will happen if we’re just standing here.”

“Are you sure standing here is not an option?”

Cyclops glared back at the shorter mutant, who only shrugged in response.

“We’re moving forward. Flux! Stay where you are!”

No response came, or at least Nightcrawler didn’t hear one. His ears were clogged with rushing blood, not allowing much auditory input. It appeared the blood also took up residence in his lungs, taking place of any oxygen that might have helped him breathe. He drew inward, keeping his hands close to his chest, acutely aware of how much each limb may possibly be chopped off at any moment. He would finally be able to live as a person without a tail if the training session went south. He would not be able to live at all if the training session went really south. He gulped air and the thought of being anywhere but the danger room rang in his mind. He blinked once, attempted to take a step, and crashed into the shower curtain in one of the bathrooms. He tumbled into the bathtub and checked to make sure he still had all his limbs. He hissed air between his teeth, trying to maintain the breathing that Elaina had informed him would help ease anxiety.

Cyclops slouched as the walls fell away and Flux was delivered back to them on a platform. She stepped next to them and crossed her arms.

“He bounced?”

“Yeah. He was fine, and then he just ‘ported out.” Jean answered, motioning to the air around them. “Guess we’ll be doing this again tomorrow.”

“Are you sure he was fine?”

“He has to be fine anyway, if he can’t handle a simulation of an empty hallway, he can’t handle an open field of enemies,” Cyclops interjected.

“Scott, take a chill pill. He’s just having a hard time.” She looked to Jean. “Do you know where he went?"

“He’s in the bathroom of the third floor, our side.”

“Our side? That’s weird.” Flux strode out of the danger room, not turning back to wait on the most likely fuming Wolverine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is heavier, 10/10.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was reviewing this chapter and found out that it's literally one 5k word stretch of a single night. So uh...hope y'all like dialogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna apologize for the late upload, we had a WEEK.

Elaina followed Jean’s directions until she reached the third floor but found the bathroom dark and empty. She poked her head into the room and called out Kurt’s name, leaving once no reply came. The undeniable sound of a sigh followed her down the hallway and she debated finding out if it were real. She turned on her heel and stood back in the middle of the bathroom, this time reaching to turn the light on. She was shocked to find Kurt leaning against the wall of the tub, curled into himself.

“Didn’t see you in there.”

“I know.”

“If you want to be alone, it’s fine. You just have to tell me.” A deep sigh came in reply and she noticed darker streaks of fur littering his face. “That wasn’t a ‘leave’ and you seem pretty frazzled.”

She kneeled next to the tub and reached out to touch his arm. The touch filled him with energy and he quickly sat on his heels, cursing the danger room, Wolverine, Cyclops, the institute, his suffocating suit, the loose hair on his head, sweat-soaked fur, and the aggravating appendage that obeyed not even him. He shoved his suit off his torso as he spoke and tugged at his hair and face until Elaina sat on the edge of the tub and wrapped her arms around his neck with an order to squeeze her. He obeyed and buried his face into her chest and attempted to pinch her off at the waist. He barely sobbed, keeping his face against her until oxygen became the bigger problem. He turned his face and caught the sight in the mirror, throwing him into a new frustrated and bitter outburst. She repeated the order to squeeze, and he hesitated to comply, citing the possibility of hurting her. She reassured him and repeated the order. This time he complied for a few seconds, ending with a deep breath. His embrace switched from anguish to comfortable and the leftover energy drained from him. He leaned more on her and finally dared to allow himself to indulge in the consolation and comfort that her soft body gave off. She placed her chin on his head and rubbed up and down his back, feeling the fur turn up and lay down beneath Kurt’s undershirt. He sniffed and relaxed after a few minutes, not yet looking up at her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I hugged you too hard.”

She pulled back to look at him and he bobbed his head at the movement.

“There’s no such thing as hugging someone too hard, Kurt.”

He laughed weakly at her easy response and rubbed at his face.

“I am sorry.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t have a reason to apologize, don’t.” She swiped at his face with a discarded cloth and sat down on the edge of the tub. He moved enough to allow her to but returned to her grasp without hesitation. “Do you wanna talk?”

“About what?”

“Kurt, you said ‘fuck’ earlier; we gotta work something out. We can’t have a good boy saying bad words.” She patted his back as she spoke and was relieved by the chuckle that followed. It died off quickly and heavy silence sat between them.

“I don’t know.”

“What don’t you know?”

“Talking.” He sighed again, resting against her shoulder, hoping that maybe he would stay tired enough to sleep through the night.

“What’s up with you? What’s going on? Scott told you X-Men don’t do stuff alone but what he really meant to say was that _we_ don’t do stuff alone.”

“Who is we?”

“Friends. Us. This family. Logan is exempt though; he likes to do things alone.”

He chuckled again; this time much lighter as the underlying topic lingered in the bathroom.

“I might even settle for you talking to someone else, as long as you promise to do it.”

He chewed on the question and started taking an inventory on how many spots their bodies touched. His forearms were almost long enough to span her short torso, drawing even more attention to just how small she actually was. As he swallowed, he noted how soft she felt against his Adam’s apple. He also started to notice the griminess to his fur and the dampness that was probably spreading to her.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I’m kinda gross.”

“Why would you be gross?”

“Sweat.”

“Oh.” She dropped her head back down to his and she swallowed back saliva that she had unknowingly started storing. “I’m sweaty too, it’s okay.”

“You don’t have fur.”

“The fur doesn’t make it gross, Kurt.”

“I disagree.” She pulled back, peered down at him, and he met her gaze before he settled his forehead against her neck. He stood suddenly as unease slip back into his psyche. She took his hand as he stepped out of the tub and tried to pace the bathroom instead. She stood in front of him and dared him to finish his lap. He sighed once more and frowned back at her. Their standoff didn’t last long as Kurt reached out and teleported them to his room. He pulled on old clothes and stretched his legs while he sat on his bed. She sat next to him, with her back to his, idly inspecting her fingers.

“You know, I can feel you still. You’re anticipating something. Like you’re building the courage for something.”

“You can feel that but _not_ lust?” He barely turned his head to address her, a smile drifting onto his lips and leaving before it could catch up to his eyes.

“I guess so. It might not even be my powers.”

“I am afraid.”

“It’ll be okay though. If you want to talk like I’m not gonna be mean or anyth-“

“No, I am afraid. That is my problem.”

“Oh. Of what?”

“Of leaving here. Of the danger room. School. Homework. Being in public. Going back to hiding in my parent’s house.” He leaned back until they brushed and Elaina returned the gentle pressure. “I do not want to be kicked out.”

“They aren’t gonna kick you out, Kurt. They aren’t like that.”

“You said once they may kick you out.”

“That was dumb, and I was angry, and it doesn’t make any sense. You’re learning. You still get lost sometimes; it wouldn’t be ethical to make a guy leave a house he can’t even navigate.” She dropped her head to his back and his hair found its way to tickle her face. “They wouldn’t do that.”

“I will take your word for it.”

“What’s bothering you about school?”

“It is a lot and I don’t know that I can handle it. There are so many classes and homework and people and it just makes me nervous. What if something happens and people find out and I have to leave?”

“Kurt, that won’t happen. The professor has wiped minds before, I’m sure he’d do it again to protect us.”

“But how many times?”

“Your image inducer is pretty solid; how often does it get fucky?”

“Not very often. But people might still find out. They can still feel it.”

“People aren’t very smart. They’d probably just think you have hairy arms.”

“Elaina.”

“Kurt. You’re gonna be fine, and we’ll deal with it when you aren’t. I promise.”

He held out his hand to her, smallest finger extended. She took it gingerly and didn’t rush to break the contact.

“You really promise?”

“No matter what happens. We’re in this together. More now than ever.”

“If people become interested in me, what will I do? I cannot exactly date people.”

“I think you might just have to take it verrryyy slow. You know? Test the waters, ask them how they feel about gay people and then racism and then maybe move into ‘hey, I am covered in fur and have an awesome tail.’”

“Awesome is not how I would describe it.”

“I think it’s pretty cool. It holds stuff and your body and it’s got a fancy little shovel tip.”

He chuckled at her and turned to lean fully against her back. He bent his body enough to be able to lean his head on her shoulder and she returned the gesture by smushing her cheek against his forehead.

“It is easy for you to say. I’m not fond of the fur either.”

“I know. I just wish you knew how good it feels.”

“You think it feels good?” He lifted his head to question her.

“I mean yeah, it’s soft and keeps everyone warm. And I do have to say, it is a beautiful color.” He scoffed and returned to their previous position.

“Again, that is easy for you to say.”

“It is, but it’s easy for everyone to say. Not everyone is gonna be all hunky-dory with mutants, or mutants like you, but you shouldn’t date those people. Find the ones that want to brush your fur for you, and spend time finding out how all of your fingers and muscles work. Don’t waste time on someone that won’t make you a better person.”

“It is not so simple, I don’t think.”

“It’s not but like you’ll never know if you don’t try. And besides, what are your other options? Go home to your mom and dad and watch horses fuck for the rest of your life?”

“I do not want to do that either, I promise you that.”

“Why? Germany was boring?”

“It was lonely. I didn’t get to see people, or eat bad food, or even see tall buildings. There’s so much I didn’t know I was missing. I don’t want to go back to that.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to feel better and be happy.”

“Ditto. Let’s work on it together.”

“How do we do that?”

“I don’t know, but it might work if we try it.” At her words, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her stomach for another hug. He rubbed his eyes into her shoulder blade and sniffed lightly, still feeling the earlier breakdown. She patted the side of his face and felt his arms tighten the slightest before he stepped back again. “Why don’t you go shower? I’m tired and probably gonna go to bed soon anyway.” 

She didn't. Instead, she walked through the institute, wracking her brain for ideas when she overheard the middle of a conversation that she knew she wasn’t supposed to hear. Logan’s deep vibrations shook her core as she realized what they were discussing in Charles’s office.

“I can’t do much with him anymore. Getting him to run a sim is one thing, but completing it? Nearly impossible.” Logan crossed his arms as he spoke, eyeing the door as if someone would burst through it.

“As much as I’d hate to admit it, I’m agreeing with you. He has shown promise as a student but not as an X-man. If he continues to show no signs of progress, we may be out of options for him.” Charles spoke through tented fingers, his eyes communicating clear judgment. The two instructors standing before him sought remorse but felt none from their long-time leader.

“Perhaps he just needs more time to settle. His first accidental orientation to the danger room went relatively well, all things considered.” Ororo’s even tone radiated through the room and dissipated before reaching the solid oak doors.

“He’s been here for almost two months, with a stagnation in progress. He’s stuck in the starting gate, Ororo. There may be other mutants out there better suited for the team that we may lose as we spend time on him. I’m sorry. We can give him until midterms, but no longer.” The professor’s words concluded the discussion and the two before him nodded albeit reluctantly.

The doors flung open to reveal Elaina, eyes narrowed at the three adults in the room.

“If you send him home, you’re losing two X-Men, not one.”

“Elaina, you don’t mean what you're implying.” Charles folded his hands on his desk, even toned and authoritative.

“I do. You send him home and you prove that you’re not concerned about mutants, just personal bullshit. And I’m not dealing with that. I won’t sit here while you make an ass of me and everyone else here.”

“Elaina, what do you want us to do? We do not have the resources to house a mutant that cannot function as a team member.” Charles held on to his resolve, only causing her to breathe faster than before.

Give me control of his training.” Her arms folded over her chest while the adults in the room gaped at her demand.

"I'm not sure that's the best decision to make right now." Charles stammered out.

"You guys can't get him to work out, so maybe you need a new tactic?"

"She's got a point, Chuck. If we're ready to send him home now, what's the hurt in letting her screw around for the next few weeks?"

"Ororo?" Charles lifted an eyebrow in her direction.

"I believe it would be best for Elaina to focus on school," she replied, taking care to return the stubborn gaze. "You cannot afford to make any more mistakes. We know you like Kurt, but he's not what we need right now."

"I'll live without school. Kurt won't live without the institute."

"I don't think it will come to that. We're going to keep working with him, and you will keep working on whatever you need to graduate." Ororo's volume rose slightly, the mark of authority being exercised.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"It will."

The two men watched subtle marks of a power struggle continue before their eyes. Body language was only half as effective as the pent-up energy swirling in their fingertips. Someone would have to give in before the conversation could end.

"If it doesn't work, you _will_ lose two of your X-Men."

The door swung shut, punctuating the warning that clung to the air. She pulled at the suit on her body until it sat right in the crooks of her thighs. Each step wiggled it back into feeling like a constrictor around her legs until she eventually unzippered it and allowed the torso to hang around her belt. The fabric only suffocated her body more as it tightened muscles, ordering release. She rubbed at the fabric around her knees as she diverted course back into the basement, where a long-awaited workout was hiding.

Walking into the gym for the first time in ages was the biggest release she could have asked for. The scent of leftover body odor, worn and tearing leather, along with something that might be mildew flew into her nostrils and settled there. Various weights were strewn about as Logan had most likely been in there that morning, and Scott didn't come in to clean up after him. The far side of the room had treadmills, ellipticals, and various other machines that Logan usually said were "too mechanical" to have that many benefits. Just before this, along the wall, hung a dusty and duct taped punching bag that seemed to be ready to tear off the ceiling. Cracks and crinkles tore up the scarred leather, stopping halfway up the bag. Her gloves littered the floor alongside some old water bottles. 2 rows of 8 lockers jutted barely out of the wall, one padlocked, one held items, but the door bent open anyway, and one had captives, but the closure ended in two rusted stubs that didn't touch each other anymore. The rest sat empty, waiting for possessions to guard.

The stubbed locker opened to reveal assorted snack wrappers, yellowed socks, and several ace bandages that flared and drooped throughout the roll. She pulled out two of them and started wrapping, eyeballing the bag and memorizing a pattern that felt familiar. A rhythm found her feet and hands within seconds. Moving consistently, rooting when you're touching the ground, and leading with your hips were facts drilled into her head when Logan worked with her. Had her powers been offensive, she wouldn't have had to spend so much time with Logan. The downsides of her mutant abilities were often cast aside for how much power a bad attitude and unwavering tenacity could give. In the end, her superpower is probably just being passive-aggressive in every facet of life. Her powers were passive-aggressive, she was passive-aggressive, and her attitude was a culmination of the two: passive-aggressive.

She bent to hold her knees, feeling tickles on her cheeks and temples. It neared midnight when she heard light tapping of feet. It was hard to pick out, but nevertheless grew closer to the room she was in. The hair on her arms stood straight as she turned to see the light still off in the hallway, but the steps growing louder. The sounds came from the doorway; then they continued down the hallway. The rooms stayed still, not even a shadow daring to move. She inched to her locker and eased the door open. She unwrapped her hands and left the door open, not giving it an opportunity to creak. She pressed her back to the wall, bending around the doorframe until she was in the hallway. She spied the yellow of the elevator arrows and bounded towards it. It opened after too many seconds, and she sighed as light filled the hallway, not touching anything other than walls and floors and ceilings. She breathed slowly, calming her heart as she waited to reach her stop.

Dull light came in from the windows and she unbuckled her belt as she drifted in and out of the moonlight. She spied light beneath Jean's door and her voice slid out. She was either talking to Duncan or trying to work up motivation to do something. She walked further and was surprised to see the carpet under her door illuminated. She knocked on it and heard a confused invitation from the other side. She opened it and spotted a Kurt sitting on the end of her bed, pizza box behind him and damp hair hanging around his chin. His smile lacked teeth this time and disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He turned back to face the vanity, without a murmur or question.  
"You know, you're usually sleeping or puking right now, but you can't do those here." She tiptoed to lift enough to sit over the end of the bedframe. He didn't respond and she noticed his folded hands. "Everything okay?"

"I'm sorry. About today. I should have stayed in the danger room. And I should have not done all of the other things or bothered you so much about a date," he rambled until she turned towards him, crossing her legs.

"You don't have to apologize. Everyone gets scared in the danger room sometimes. It just so happens that your powers are literally just leaving."

"Everyone?"  
"Even Logan."

He cracked a smile at her and looked back down at his hands as she continued much quieter this time.

"Even me."

"It doesn't show"

"Good. That's how I want it."

"Why?"

"Pfft, and let everyone know I'm not that tough? Yeah, okay, Kurt."

"How do you hide it?"

"I just focus on what I need to do. I'd rather be determined than scared." She watched his shoulders sag, dragging his body down. "I had to learn to be confident first, you know."

"You were not confident all the time?"

"No, I'm still not confident sometimes. I used to be really nervous about dumb stuff like my hair and my body and I had really bad acne for a while." He scoffed and looked back to the reflection in front of him.

"Was it hard?"

"I mean kinda. I had to make myself look at the stuff I liked so that I could get used to the stuff I didn't."

"I don't know that will work for me."

"Well, what do you like about yourself?" He gave her a taut smile, eyes awaiting a lightbulb that would never come. "There has to be something. It doesn't even have to be physical."

"My mother tells me I have a strong mind."

"Like smart?"

"I don't know."

"I think you're smart, so let's go for it."

"I'm not good at math."

"So? Just don't aim to be a scientist and you'll be fine."

They settled into silence as they both examined the beings in the mirror. Elaina eventually rested her cheek on his shoulder, offering the calmness. After a few minutes, Kurt started swinging his feet from the end of the bed until he remembered the pizza box behind them.

"I forgot, I brought this for you, I didn't know if you want it."

"Do you really not like anything about your body?" Elaina had zoned off on a corner of her room until the curiosity to hear his answer overcame the nerves to ask. He turned back around and folded his hands again.

"I guess not. It's blue and fuzzy and I've got a tail. Weird hands." He held them up to give evidence to his words.

"Okay but what about the rest? You have more body than fingers and tails and fur."  
"I don't know. I've always had more pressing matters."

"The good news is other people see more than that."

"What do you see?"

"I see…" she tutted as she thought about the response that she wanted to give him. After a few seconds she spoke again. "I see really thick hair." He scoffed again and shook his head at her response. "I see a shapely nose an—"

"You like my nose?" his voice rose with his hand that reached up to feel the bridge of his nose.

"It's good. It suits your face."

"I think it is big."

"Some people need big noses. It suits you."

"Tell me more." His face softened and he settled back on his elbows, turning his head to meet her eyes.

"Do you wanna hear like what a teenage girl would say if she wanted you to buy her dinner or like what your mom would say if she saw you in a suit for the first time?"

"Tell me what the professor would hear when he read your mind."

They both paused, Elaina weighing her options and Kurt waiting calmly. She searched his face for signs of what answer he wanted and eventually, after finding nothing, gave a slow answer.

"I like your laugh. It's refreshing."  
"Refreshing?" He scrunched his nose up at her choice of words.

"Yeah, like when you really, actually laugh, it's good. Good, and genuine, and refreshing."

"Just admit that you are hopelessly in love with me and we can move on."

"Tell yourself that long enough and you might love yourself."

"If only it were so easy."

"I think it would be if you worked on it long enough. You know, like focus on the good things that you like and appreciate yourself. Thank your body for all it does."

"Grows fur and makes me hungry?"

"Well, yeah. If you weren't hungry, would you really enjoy food? If you didn't have fur, wouldn't you be cold?"

"I guess so…What do you thank your body for?"

"For being strong and for allowing me to sleep soundly."

He hummed and laid back fully onto the bed, pushing the pizza out of the way. He felt her feet wiggling against his side only to find himself on the floor within the second. Her mad giggling came from above as she watched, patiently waiting for a reaction. Air rushed in and out in a sigh as he stood up.

"You are absolutely horrible, you know?"  
"I know. I thank myself for it every day." More laughing erupted from her and spilled over his shoulder as he tackled her off the other side of the bed. The struggle was short as she flipped him and latched a leg around his. "Oh no, no, no. No. You need to pin the joints. Knees and elbows will work, but hips and shoulders are essential to a good pin."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you're gonna be an X-Man, you gotta be able to hold your own in a fight."

"I don't wanna hold anything right now. Not in this position, at least." He grimaced from below her and tried to scoot around enough to loosen the hold.

"Are you actually uncomfortable like emotionally?"

"Emotionally, no. Physically, yes."

"Then do something about it."

She grinned at him and waited for him to make any attempt to get her off. Her hair fell upwards as the room turned upside down. The distance between them grew a few feet before she realized she was falling. She bounced into the pizza box and took a moment to get her bearings but lost track of them again when Kurt dropped onto the bed, effectively pinning her.

"How did I do?"

"I'd say okay."

"Just okay?"

"You squished the pizza."

"_Me?_"

"I mean yeah, indirectly. Get off." She tossed him off with ease as she sat up. He sat back on his heels and grinned up at her. "Don't get so smug, Nightcrawler. I've got years on you."

"Ja, a whole year really does a lot."

"When is your birthday anyway?"

"I don't know the true date, but my ID has my made-up birthdate on it."

"Like adoption date?"

"Ja, I suppose." He pulled the card from his wallet and held it out for her to see.

"February 10th? That's kinda close to mine."

"I was a couple months old when my parents adopted me, so it is wrong."

"It's close enough probably."

"I don't think I am technically a citizen in Germany anyway."

"Are you an American citizen?"

"I have no idea."

"I wonder how the professor managed all that."

"I am not going to ask him, that's his business." 

Kurt crouched now, back to the mattress and Elaina, still on the floor. She moved to settle behind him, feeling the encroaching weight of his mood falling. Small, barely chubby fingers combed through his hair, lightly massaging the blueish scalp that bent back to reveal the pale, yellow eyes. She slouched forward and took his head captive long enough to examine them.

"How do you even see?"

"What?"

"Eyes see because of the pupil, but you don't really have one."

"That's not my business either, I guess." He drifted lazily towards the pizza that ended up on the floor.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so."

"No, like really okay?"

"I am really okay." He rewarded her with a weak smile and lifted his head back up. "I understand now why I took playing-with-hair lessons from you. You're a master."

"You've got a lot to learn young 'Crawler. Have you ever braided your hair?"

"Elaina, I have three fingers."

"Oh, so you have?" She leaned sideways to smile at him and beamed at him until he nodded back at her. Her fingers went back to combing but settled on his bangs. They were separated in three and woven loosely, new hair joining at every crossover. His eyes fluttered shut just a few minutes before she declared she was done. Her hair fell into his vision, released from its confines of the nearest available ponytail holder.

"Does it look good?"

"You know, Kurt, it makes you look handsome."

"Ooh, a strong word." He sat up just enough to see the top of his head in the mirror.

"Do you like it."  
"Honestly, yes." He moved closer to better see it and patted down the braid.

"Oh, so you like something about yourself?"

He rolled his eyes and tucked the strays behind his ears. They shared a smile through the mirror and he quickly spun on his feet to strike a pose, hip jutting out. She laughed back at him and kicked at his legs.

"I'll have to teach you to do that too."

"You can teach me on our date." Kurt leaned further and blew at the loose hairs around his face.

"Oh yeah! Do you still wanna do something?"

"Only if you do."

"We could go see an actual movie or go do dinner or go dancing. We could go to a concert."

"Some of those sound like a lot of people that might touch me."

"Okay, so no dancing or concert. We could go get like real dinner?"

"Real dinner?"

"Like a sit-down restaurant. We gotta expose you to more terrible American food."

"I could go for a little American." He finished the sentence with a wink, and she slapped a hand on his chest.

"That line will only work on short people, you know."

"I'll use it on Logan later."

"I gotta say though Kurt, I'm a little shocked. All this amazing flirting skills but you didn't even _respond_ when I sat on you earlier."

"You were not low enough." They passed a yawn back and forth as it had started to reach later into the school night. They both worked their way out the door, lowering their voices as it opened.

"You're not saying 'no' to the boner question, you realize that?"

"I do realize that. If I am anything, it's an honest man."

"Mhmm, you might be an expert in reverse psychology."

"What do you mean?" He flashed a toothy grin at her, creating the ideal monotone voice for sarcasm.  
"If you tell me, it makes it a lot less believable. I'm no fool."

"What if it is true?"

"Nothing, I guess."

"Then why would I lie?"

"To cover up the bigger boner you got while I was braiding your hair."

"Now that is not true!"

She grabbed his arm once his voice rose above a whisper.

"So, you care about that boner but not the other boner?"

"I'm a teenage boy, it is practically expected that I would get a boner while a girl is pinning me to the ground. It is not expected to get one from someone playing with your hair!" He spoke quickly, nearly stumbling over his words.

"So, it wasn't the sitting on, it was the pinning that did it."

"It was the lack of ever being sat on."

"Very interesting conclusion."

"You are impossible."

"I am a gift."

He opened his door, walking past her leaning on his doorframe.

"Can I return you?"

"Do you really want to?" Her legs crossed, keeping her barely upright as she leaned in to push his buttons further.

"I don't think so. But sometimes, it is tempting."

"When is it most?"

"When you blame me for squishing pizza that you are laying on."

"You did do that, Kurt. You dropped me on it."

"_Then do something about it_." He sneered at her, mocking her previous inflection.

"I'm not doing anything other than sleeping." Her words were accompanied by a heel turn and a wave. "You can keep the hairtie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK if this chapter will hit or if it will flop. Comments are much appreciated ^_^


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurt and Elaina have a shift in training, Elaina is seemingly going through some shit, and they have a fun weekend planned for a few chapters from now. Enjoy ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being so late! Between some personal stuff going on and this whole pandemic thing, we were a bit rough for a few days(weeks). I hope you can forgive me!

The next day, water droplets trailed Kurt and Elaina down the school hallway, both soaked to the core due to New York's downpouring rain and a teenager's inevitably forgetful memory. They were considerably early since a teleport was irresistible. Kurt's locker was only a few down from Elaina's as they shared a homeroom, both being graced with a last name at the end of the alphabet. Two seemingly older boys swatted the lockers around Elaina, alerting her in the worst way. They both wore dirty, holed jeans and scowls that barely matched Elaina's. The only separation between the two was one's patchy, sparse facial hair and a green beanie on the other's head.

"What do you want?" Elaina looked up to them, shoulders squared despite the height advantage she didn't have.

"Just wanted to know where you get off breaking Tanner's nose. Care to explain that?" Green Beanie spoke first, apprehension too silencing to his friend.

"Who the fuck is Tanner?"

"He's the kid you punched in Math." Kurt spoke from behind his locker door. Staying removed was in his best interest, but camaraderie prevented him from leaving. 

"Oh, that shithead? He deserved it."

"For what? Makin-"

A throat cleared behind them and Principal Darkholme's strong features took over the conversation.

"I'm sure you all could use a reminder that there are not many remaining strikes. For _all_ of you." She leaned forward and looked pointedly at each of them. "I'd suggest you leave this where it stands."

The boys complained as they walked away, determined to have the last word.

"You _will_ finally be out of my school, Ms. Ward. I'm not tolerating a single foul word from you."

"Then you're like two seconds too late." She mumbled under her breath, closing her locker. She turned and smiled at the older woman. In mock perfection, high-voiced and perky, she bid her a good day and met Kurt at his locker.

"Finally?" he asked.

"She's been gunning at me for a while. I don't think I even ever did anything specifically to her either."

Kurt jumped mid shrug as a hand landed next to him, another hand slamming the locker and breaking the conversational momentum. A girl their age, taller than both with a sleek brown bob, smiled down at Elaina and Kurt.

"You guys are looking awfully peachy for ruining Principal Darkholme's good mood." She spoke too loudly for the early morning and Elaina scrunched up her face as she hung her head towards Kurt.

"Quick Kurt, what's her name?"

"Mia. You talk to her every day."

"Yeah, when she's not making eyes at you." Mia winked at Kurt and nodded towards the other girl. "Are you good for this weekend or no?"

"Uh, yeah. I wouldn't pass up a weed weekend."

"You are still grounded." Kurt shut his locker and turned to face the hallway between the girls.

"Yeah, but I'm always grounded."

"The professor will not give you permission to smoke weed for a whole weekend."

"I'm not gonna ask permission, I'm just gonna do it," Elaina explained.

"Yeah! Break the rules!" Mia shoved her fist into the air. "You can come too, German Boy. We're taking Oli's van and heading to Pennsylvania."

"You are from Pennsylvania?" He looked to Elaina, recalling their first introduction.

"Well, yeah but like it's a total Hicktown."

"Why are you going there?"

"Moonshine." Both girls spoke at the same time and a few knowing looks came from the now crowding hallway.

"You don't have to go Kurt, we're just gonna be delinquents for a weekend and come back like angels."

"What is moonshine?"

"It's alcohol. Like 100 proof." He stared into the hallway, contemplating Mia's words. "You won't care if I go?"

Elaina and Mia met eyes and locked back onto Kurt.

"You want to go?" The shorter girl raised her eyebrows at him.

"Elaina, I am from Germany. I haven't had a drink since coming here."

"I thought drinking age in Germany is like 16? You're not quite there yet."

"Does that stop you here, where it is 21?"

The girls shrugged at each other.

"You can absolutely come." Mia nodded at him throughout her answer, throwing a smug look to Elaina.

A warning bell rung, and they made their way into homeroom. The rest of the day was considerably uneventful until lunch. Kurt met the rest of the group partaking in the weed weekend and the unanimous decision was made that he would come along.

"Okay, so like, Kurt, hear me out. _How_ did you get alcohol in Germany?" Elaina tapped splayed fingers on the table, squinting so that he would get the underlying question.

"I've not always been a 'good boy' as you call me."

"Okay but _how_?" She cocked her head and squinted harder at him.

"Oh…_oh_. I would just steal it. From the store or my parents."

The rest of the group joined the conversation at this moment, suddenly interested in his explanation.

"Hold on, you knocked up stores in Germany?" Oli spoke for the first time and looked to the other girls for their reactions. Kurt's eyebrows shot up at the question before Oli clarified. "Knock up like rob, not make a baby."

"Oh… Yes, but only the drink."

"Elaina totally made you out to be strait-laced." They all turned to her as she continued to squint at Kurt. She leaned forward once again and patted the table

"But _how._"

"I would wait until _dark_ and _pop_ in." He gave her a pointed look and returned to the rest of the table.

"So, you would just 'pop in' and never get caught?"

"No, I can be very sneaky." He winked at Mia and she pressed a hand to her chest in mock shyness.

Lunch and their school day concluded quickly; the population of Bayville High growing restless. Kurt eventually walked home with Elaina, neither enjoying the last summer humidity that stuck to their bodies.

"How are you gonna sneak out for this weekend?"

"Just leave. He can't really stop me."

"You must make that man's blood boil."

"Are you sure you wanna come? Both of us disappearing for a whole weekend is gonna spur a lot of rumors."

"Jean is already convinced we are an item, and Scott has mentioned that if I need _anything_, I can go to her. So, they cannot get much worse."

"You really used to steal beer and shit in Germany?"

"Ach, ja, so much. My parents knew I was doing it but could not find my hiding spot."

"Really? So, they just like didn't do anything?"

"They tried to talk me into confessing and told me about how terrible it was, that stealing is a sin, but I did not care much. I was 14." He raised his hands and dropped them again, resulting in the usual awkward hand brush that no one can ignore.

"Did you ever stop?"

"Yeah, when I came here. I think that was part of the reason they wanted me to come. Give me something to do."

"'Direction' as the prof would call it." They both giggled at the truth spoken by Elaina and fell back into the comfortable silence. They neared the front of the institute and felt the telepath in their brains before he spoke to them. He requested their presence in the study, and both outstretched their hands, simultaneously offering and asking for a teleport. They popped in and felt the intrusion leave and another invade, this one more physical. Logan and Ororo stood on either side of Xavier.

"How was school today?" Xavier appeared falsely relaxed, having accepted that whatever he had to say would not be taken lightly.

"What is this? An intervention?" Elaina rolled her eyes and stepped forward while Kurt reached out to touch her elbow. She gave him a big smile and left it with him as she turned back around to let the professor know she was already on the defense.

"It is not an intervention. I have a request for you both. It's not without reward, I promise."

"What do you want?"

"I would like you both to partake in some extra training."

"Together?" Kurt glanced at Elaina and back to the professor, waiting on a response.

"No, separately. You will both have extra training, alternating with Logan and Ororo."

"Wha—"

"What kind of training?" Kurt interrupted Elaina and ignored the glare she had for him.

"Well, you could use some more orientation to the danger room, and Elaina could use some power training. It won't be too much for you both and will hopefully boost your progress as X-Men."

"You mentioned rewards. What's the motivation?" Elaina crossed her arms at the mention of the revisited topic.

"To be frank, I'm losing my mind with you stuck in the house, so if you accept the training, I will lift your grounding. And for Kurt, I think we can redistribute some chores as time becomes more valuable."

They both looked to each other and Kurt nodded at the professor. Elaina spent a few extra seconds, attempting to find any catch in his offer.

"Fine."

"Very good. Your first session will be with Ororo, before school tomorrow and Kurt, you will be with Logan."

Elaina spun to leave the room and Kurt took the time to wave before following her out. They 'ported again to the kitchen, beginning the scour for food. Elaina decided on cereal while Kurt munched on chips.

"Do you think it'll be hard training?"

"All training is hard." A clink rang out between each bite as she dipped the spoon into the bowl.

"Don't be so grumpy." He offered her a chip and rolled his eyes when she only opened her mouth.

"I don't think your training is gonna be hard. Probably just obstacle courses and like some danger room puzzles."

"Those are hard."

"Ororo will go easy on you. Logan though, he's gonna make you miserable and sore. Don't worry too much until you're doing it though. Distract yourself with thoughts of our upcoming weekend trip." She grinned at him and held out her spoon to him. He took the bite and scrunched his nose at her.

"There's no milk in there."

"There is, it's just not a lot."

"How much milk?" He leaned over the bowl and she pulled it back, shoving another spoonful into her mouth.

"Enough to get it wet!"

"That is not a lot!"

"Yeah! Milk is gross."

He rolled his eyes and leaned back against the countertop, returning to his dwindling bag of chips.

"What do we do on this weekend trip?"

"Well, we're gonna be stuck in a car until everyone is ready to kill each other, then we camp outside and get absolutely faded, and do that until we're in PA."

"PA?"

"Yeah, Pennsylvania."

"Okay, then what?"

"Then we get drunk off our asses on Saturday, and drive home Sunday. It's a classic road trip movie in the making."

"I have never smoked weed before."

"You don't have to. Sometimes it just makes you tired, sometimes it makes you nervous. No one's gonna force you, but you can partake if _you so choose_."

* * *

The following days were hectic as they sunk into their new routines. Kurt fell into step with the training, but still struggling immensely each day. Elaina's training seemed to take every ounce of patience and left the entire institution sludgy with her agitation. The rest of the inhabitants only got a few words in with her each day, while whoever took the last one ended up scorn in some way. Everyone's mood suffered but she still stuck to Kurt on most days despite being incredibly crabby. It didn’t take him long to find that stillness suited her, and simply being near was enough to get them both through her rough days. On Wednesday, Logan returned her attitude, effectively creating the most acidic interactions the school had seen that ended in a training session not even started. Word spread quickly, and everyone hung on to the thought of a Friday morning brawl.

Elaina crawled to the breakfast table, bun mussed and shirt hanging off her shoulder, exposing a bruised collar bone. She rubbed at her eyes and sat slowly. Kurt set the plate of eggs in front of her, not daring to remind her that her training with Logan was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. Scott, however, was less inclined to ignore it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the danger room right now?"

"Yeah." She barked at him, not breaking her stare from the window.

"He's not gonna be happy."

"Yeah."

"Elaina, I can reinstate your previous punishment plan if you don't want to do training." Charles piped in without looking from his cup of tea.

"Relax, it's one day. He'll live, I'll live, _Scott_ will live." She lazily pointed her fork in his direction and let her raised eyebrows and empty eyes convey the deeper message: she didn't care either way.

Stomping resounded through the room, Logan growling into existence.

"If you won't come to training, training comes to you." He smiled and crouched, preparing to jump.

Elaina bounced up and peeked at the lights flickering above her. A growl rumbled through her bones and she walked around the table, not bothering to find a decent stance that would last against Logan. He ran low to the ground, claws extended behind him ready for a fight. The lights popped off and the room illuminated again, sourced at her extended hands. It flashed and crackled between them and Logan flew backwards, landing on his back near to his starting place. The lights buzzed back on to reveal wide eyes and mouths hung open. She threw out her arms and yelled back at the now stirring Wolverine.

"Is that what you wanted me to do? All week? Did that do it?"

"Yeah, actually." He rubbed at his face and stood up. "There ya go, Chuck. You were right."

"Right about what?" Elaina spun to scowl at him.

"How long have you known?" Charles smiled warmly at her, an obvious attempt to keep any other emotional outbursts from happening.

"Hold on, you knew you could do that?" Scott interjected, fueling Elaina's chagrin.

"No, Scott, I didn't know." She folded her arms and gave him a pointed look. "I had an inkling."

"An inkling? What even was that? Do you--"

"A redirection." Xavier interrupted, tenting his fingers and nodding between them. "Elaina's powers have been developing for some time, just without our knowledge of it."

Wolverine walked up behind Elaina and slung an arm around her shoulders while Xavier spoke. He smiled down at her catching a moment of pout and a returned scowl at Scott's voice.

"So, she's stronger now?"

"Yes, but not in the way you are thinking. Isn't that so?"

"I didn't know I could do it. It doesn't work all the time." She leaned to one side and glanced around the room.

"_It_ is a redirection of energy. I suspect we'll get to know much about it in the next few weeks. For now, sit down, finish breakfast. You still have school."

The standing members of the household took their seats, attempting to return to the meal despite the unjustifiably heavy air. Jean shrugged at Scott from across the table, nodding towards Kurt, who fidgeted indefinitely. A telepathic "relax" crossed his mind, and his head bobbed in the slightest. Ororo began the conversation again, redirecting completely from any occurrences that morning. Talk of school events and midterms filtered into the hallway as Scott and Jean left for the day, anxious to get started on the walk to school.

Elaina slouched further within her chair, spending some much-needed energy on getting over the food wall she'd come across. Kurt started poking sides, making sure to withdraw before she could swat his hands or his tail. When no major response came, he copied her slouch and sighed the deepest he has ever attempted and grinned at her riled expression. His face dropped, replaced by intense focus as a staring match started. It was a great opportunity for another inspection of his eyes, but any movement of hers made it harder to keep up the game. Ororo and Logan had begun cleaning the dining room, noting their imminent lateness to school. Neither of the teens moved, now leaning with elbows on their knees. His tail swung out around him and Elaina snatched it from the air before it could reach her. 

"You need to work on that, Elf."

"I'm working on _you_ right now; it will have to wait."

The match continued for a few more seconds until Ororo loudly announced the time. They both broke eye contact and waved off the older X-Men, making sure to 'port only to the inside of the grounds. Kurt's inducer wavered on, preparing them fully for the walk to school but not the conversations. Elaina was familiar with the pale-ass, regular-looking visage, and the Kurt beneath that drew many questions out of her. It was only now that she started to question how they might be connected.

"What does it look like when you pee?"

"_Excuse me?_" He tossed his head to look dramatically at her, both in questioning and in trying to keep her from retaliating any attitude. 

"Like, your image inducer makes you _look_ like you don't have fur, or yellow eyes, or pointy tail because Xavier programmed it to. He programmed the clothes and the shoes and the sag in your pants too. Did he program a dick?"

"Honestly, I have never checked. I just use a stall and turn it off."

"Really?"

"Ja."

"You should find out."

"You should find out for me." He lifted a corner of his mouth, sneaking quick peeks of her reaction. She only mocked his voice before shoving him to the side, nearly onto someone's lawn.

"You've got balls, you know that?"

"How did you know? You have not checked." His smile grew more, catching her in the same smile.

"Is that real confidence? Or is that programmed into your watch too?"

"Yes."

They huddled into their silence, not bothering to linger on the questions that _that_ had brought about. They had gravitated closer to each other in the recent days, finding awkward comfort. Elaina had bargained that it was simply a need being filled, only it was Kurt's need and she was filling it. She also quickly decided that any need she had that could be filled by Kurt was not worth addressing. On the other hand, Kurt kept up with the flirting, finding that he did actually feel confident knowing that she both didn't care and seemed interested in learning him and his body. The compliments she gave him never hurt; the company never hurt. It seemed that whatever nurturing side of her that busted out occasionally made him feel better when he needed it most. It wasn't a horrid arrangement for them, but it grated on any telepath or any particularly heightened senses in the vicinity.

Kurt reflected more on the questions she asked only to be brought out of the thoughts by her arm looping through his, mimicking their first step into the mall a few weeks ago. She stared off in front of her, eyes to the ground and a drag in her step.

"Something bugging you?"

"How did you feel when you got your powers?" She didn't look up at him, but she did reach up to lay a hand on his arm, pinching at the fur on it.

"It was scary. It hurt and made me sick."

"No, like emotionally."

"When I teleported for the first time, my mother was cooking. She put pepper in potatoes, and it made me sneeze. I opened my eyes, and I was in the forest. Surrounded by trees. I panicked and just ran. I didn't find my way out for a few hours, but it was okay. They told me what had happened, and I didn't do it again for a few weeks. I had attempted it then, and it still hurt but I knew where I was going and how to get back."

"Were you scared?"

"I was scared at first, but it made me feel better after I knew what was happening. It was like I finally knew why I had been made this way. It explained so much to me."

They walked in silence after Kurt's recollection, not focusing too much on it. Both their minds raced, one focusing on the fears she had and the other focusing on the sensation of his fur being picked at so carefully. They got to school without any more words. Kurt dared to bring up how much he believed she was struggling or how she clung to him like an anxious child, but it wouldn't have done much for their homeroom and first period if he did. He recognized the breathing technique that she had showed him, the bouncing of her leg, and the extra tray of food she gave him at lunch but took her silence on the matter to mean that she didn't want to say anything. He leaned closer to her when he could, hoping that some amount of warmth would fend off the cold she was experiencing.

* * *

Their Saturday training began awkwardly, both instructors having claimed the danger room for their trainees. When Wolverine walked in, still groggy from the morning, he nearly growled at the situation and Storm. With the knowledge they both had of the training the teens were getting, they decided to tweak their sessions so that they would work within each other. They both turned to find dreary looking mutants seated on the metal casings in the control room. Nightcrawler's head tilted back to rest on the top of Flux's head between his shoulder blades. He returned an expectant look before flexing his tail around her calf to rouse her. Her head popped up with her angry face returning. They explained the plan, sent them down to the danger room, and started the simulation with a building sense of hope.

The simulation looked strangely familiar. Tall, cold metal walls jutted to the ceiling; three paths shown through. They both cocked an eyebrow up, before walking to the first intersection. Flux spoke first while adjusting the belt around her waist.

"Okay, so it's a maze. It doesn't really matter if it's the same because we didn't get very far or win last time. Does that track?"

"Uhh, track?"

"Make sense. Sound right. _Steht_ _das_?" He nodded back at her and she continued her thinking. "The professor told Scott that he needed to learn to trust and handle his teammates without fail. That was the big idea that time."

"So, we need to trust and handle each other?" Nightcrawler drew his arms up, looking back to her.

"Well, I trust you, and you trust me, and I trust that we can get through this with minimal issues. Just let me know if you're getting too panicky and need to take a break."

"That is an option?"

"It is today?" She shrugged at him and moved into the middle of the intersection. She pointed to the left. "Scott and I went down here, and we both got popped. Scott was at a dead end, I remember that for sure. What do you remember about you and Jean?"

"We went straight and did not get anywhere other than shot."

"Okay, so go right?"

They nodded at each other and walked side by side through the hallway, whirring beginning after a few feet.

"We know it's coming, once it pops, 'port us to the other side!" A death grip strangled her calf immediately following her words. Her brain tried to register the new perspective and the old one but failed miserably as the gun spun around to face them. Cold metal lurched into her gloved hands as she steadied herself for the next shot. Energy dashed out and fried the gun before it could target them. The soreness around her leg brought her back, Nightcrawler leaning almost over her, eyes fixed on five fingers and the hunching gun.

"It is off?"

"I guess?"

"What did you do?"

"Uuhhh…yes?"

He tilted his head to the side, a mix of accusing and questioning on his face. He leaned slightly too far forward trying to get his point across and barely toppled them over. Braced on hands and heels, Flux held up his weight while he regained some composure. Their awkward positions led to awkward touchings and further into awkward feelings. Neither of them had much time to dwell on this as another gun reached from the floor. The actions were repeated again and again until both teens fell into the rhythm of the game.

"Hey, Nightcrawler?"

"_Ja_?"

"Know where we are?"

"New York."

She scowled at him and took a few steps forward.

"Maybe the point isn't to get out?"

"Why would that be?"

"I don't know, we're learning teamwork?"

"Then we would be done now, _ja_?"

"Let's just keep moving. It's been like half an hour and Logan's gonna start getting hungry anyway."

"Oooh, I'm gonna beat him there." He held a hand on his stomach for a few seconds to drive the point home. They started walking again, eyes and ears trained around them. Overlapping sounds came from in front of them and they both prepared for the jump. They reappeared facing two machines, mimicking their back-to-back stance.

"Kurt! The ceiling!"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and teleported them both again to the space above the guns, lowering her just enough to reach them. Another 'port placed them on the ground; this new strategy being filed away in their minds. This repeated like the last until they both found their way to the rounded walls of what would be the exit.

Or so they thought.

Clapping fed through the danger room long enough for smiles to grow as big as they would get until being rudely interrupted by Wolverine's booming voice.

"Congrats! You found the entrance."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Nope! But, we'll call it half done. You can try again on Monday. Come on up, Elf. Bring Short Shit too."

They puffed into the control room to see familiar relaxed faces.

"We don't have training tomorrow?"

"Nope, it's the Lord's day and Elf likes the Lord. _We_ can train if you want." Logan motioned between himself and Flux, his hand quickly caught by hers.

"No, no, that will be fine. Sunday is the day of sleep."

"Day of _rest_." Kurt interjected

"You both did well. You got the pattern down quickly and adjusted as needed." Ororo held her arms up as she explained, subtly but deliberately bringing the attention to her. "I think you're on your way to finishing your first session, Nightcrawler."

He grinned back at her, fangs showing through for a fraction of a second before his smile fell away.

"And, Flux, I believe that is the most you have chosen to explore your new skillset. I'm happy."

She returned a meek smile, nodding as Ororo continued. After the recap of the session, the teens separated at the locker room, quieter than they had been all morning. Usually Kurt kept conversation going regardless of how their sessions went, bouncing between any topics he had the vocabulary for and sometimes ones he didn't.

"Are you feeling okay?" She paused at the doorway and caught his eye. He hardly nodded and 'ported into the locker room.

"A little warning next time, Kurt?" Scott waved around, a clear attempt to dispel the fart smell.

"Sorry."

"Bad session?"

"No, actually, we almost finished it." His tone shifted upwards just a little, picking up with what little energy he gave to the conversation.

"Well that's good, right?"

Kurt took a deep breath and opened his eyes to look at Scott. The light returned and he sat up just a bit straighter.

"Ja, I guess. Do you shower down here for fun?"

"Ew, gross, no. I was working out. Do _you_ shower down here for fun?"

Kurt held back a chuckle and started to undress.

"No, but Logan gets irritated with too much fur so if I am down here, I will shower down here. I Speaking of working out, are you and Jean working out?"

"I could say the same about you and Elaina."

Kurt held up his gloves of defeat and turned to face away from him.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm just hungry." Scott's apology was almost lost as he put on a shirt

"Or backed up." Kurt snickered once more, teleporting into the shower to avoid Scott's shoe. He heard Scott sputter more before his voice called out over the now running water.

"So, really though, what's up with you two? You're stuck on each other all the time and she seems to like you."

"We are just friends, Scott."

"But…"

"No but."

"You don't like her like that?"

Kurt's head burst around the plastic curtain of the shower.

"Mein Gott, Scott, I would sell my kidney if it meant a date with her. A real date."

"You spend like every night with her."

He glared at Scott and threw the curtain behind him, returning to the shower.

"She'd probably do it if you made a move."

"Ah yes, the girl with regular suitors is going to settle for a night with me."

"Well, you know she's okay with the tail. And again, _she does it anyway._"

"Scott, I have never even kissed a girl. Or anything else for that matter!"

"She taught you English and Math and how to make pancakes, I'm sure she can teach you h—"

Kurt teleported into the locker room, towel almost wrapping twice around his thin stomach. Quick showers were always valuable for the young, fur-covered mutant.

"She jokes a lot about teaching me things."

"Like what?"

"How to flirt, and play with hair, and I believe once she mentioned eating, but I think I missed it."

Scott's eyebrows shot up from behind his shades and Kurt couldn’t keep the smirk away.

"I actually paid attention to that one."

"Really? What did she tell you? Salad spoon, soup fork?"

Kurt swung his feet back and forth, eyes trained on the floor.

"Oh. _Oh._"

He smiled back up at Scott, poised for questioning.

"What did she tell you?"

"Nothing much. Just that Duncan is very good at it." Scott scowled back at Kurt's laughing, pride a bit too hurt to come back from it. He grumbled about bad influences and slung his bag over his shoulder, pausing once he reached the door.

"Did she really say that?"

Kurt shrugged in response, this time not looking back as he started the lengthy process of drying fur. Scott left quietly, most likely deep in thought over the idea that he might have to beat Duncan for Jean. Kurt's phone lit up from his locker, very clearly displaying the long-ass number that meant a call from home. His heart rate jumped up and he spent a few seconds trying to calm down before answering. He was always paranoid the call would come that something terrible had happened and his mother died, or he would have to go home because of some tragic incident or catholic guilt over sending Kurt to America alone.

Slurred German came from the other end, somewhat resembling his dad's voice. Between incessant giggling, his dad wished him a happy Oktoberfest and apologized for America's drinking laws. His mom's voice came next, much more put together, but not entirely hiding the warmth that came from being tipsy. She wished him a happy Oktoberfest and started questioning him about how much he had been eating and how skinny he looked in the pictures he sent and who the short girl was and various other quarrels about his new appearance. Kurt merely listened, offering vaguely placed affirmatives and negatives until they remembered the goal of their small vacation. They smooched through the phone, hanging up without comprehending his response. After standing naked in the locker room for approximately five minutes, his fur was not only still damp, it grew cold in the chilly air. Sluggishness encroached on him along with the telltale slump of homesickness. He teleported back to his room and sprawled out on the bed, not bothering to finish drying or putting his things where they went. Morning snoozes weren't usually his thing but teleporting frequently and repeatedly sometimes wore him out faster than a regular workout. And he was missing his mommy. He barely started to drift off when pounding sounded through the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the next chapter is really cute, albeit cliched but uhhhhh, that't what we're here for.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little cute and a little progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quarantine Sadness got me, but we're back.

"I'm napping!"

"Good! Let's nap together!" Elaina pounded once again before a long drag let Kurt know she was leaning against the door.

"I am not dressed."

"Put some pants on and let me in."

He complied and cracked the door. He poofed back to his bed, narrowly avoiding the door she kicked open. She took in his disheveled hair and the fur that stuck out awkwardly on his back that faced her. She felt anxiety kick in that may have been hers and may have been his. It was a shock to her that he had both been about to nap naked, and that he had let her in to nap _with_ him, and that he was seemingly okay with being shirtless despite his insecurities. Whatever nerves existed in her were dwarfed by his.

Why did he let her in without putting a shirt on and would she finally break her nice streak at what felt like an uber vulnerable moment? Is it too late to try to compose himself? What if she voiced her true feelings about his fur? What if she enjoyed it? What does she expect from him? What if she _does _like it? What if he doesn't?

"Kurt?" He grumbled back at her and kept his eyes shut. "Get off the blankets, I came here to nap, not freeze my ass off.

"You really came here to nap with me?"

"Honestly, no. I just wanted to hang out, but you seem pretty down in the dumps." She slid under the covers that he had yet to relinquish and made sure to keep space between them. He "mm'd" in response and leaned up to give her more blankets. "I get bummed sometimes, too. Probably like more than is healthy."

"I'm not bummed."

"You're totally bummed. Speak to me."

"You do not talk about it, why do I have to?" He snapped back at her, earning a scowl-turned frown.

"I don't know why I'm bummed sometimes. How am I supposed to answer you if I don't have an answer?"

"I don't know." They let silence take over again while they shared electrified air. A few moments passed until Kurt leaned back a bit. "Oktoberfest started today."

"It's September."

"It starts in September. Ends in October."

"Oh. We can start our own next weekend?"

"It is not the same. German beer is better and American parties scare me." He rolled onto his back and began gesturing with his hands into the air. "There is even special Oktoberfest beer. And a big parade!"

"We're missin' out, huh?"

"You would like Germany; everyone is pissy, like you." His arms stretched out in front of him and Elaina caught a hand in the air. She brought it close between her smaller fingers and tested each finger's abilities.

"I'm not pissy all the time, you know." He kept his eyes on her, breaking them only to go back to what she was doing to his fingers. He looked back up, softening at her tired eyes.

"I know."

"I'm kinda surprised you're letting me do this. It's a big step."

"It's kinda nice."

"Why?" Her eyes twinkled as she questioned him.

"It feels comfortable. No, good? Everything feels better."

"Relaxing?"

"Ja, that's the one."

"I'd agree." They scooched closer together until she was close enough to tilt her head onto his shoulder. She kept bending and extending his fingers until he gently took them back. "_Do_ you feel better?"

"I'm still bummed, but it is a little better."

"Talk about it?"

"_Why_ do you want me to talk about it so bad?" He covered his face with his hands and groaned into them.

"Because I wanna know what's wrong! I wanna know what's up with you. Maybe I can help if I know what's wrong."

He sighed in response and stared back up at the ceiling. "I wanna go home. Just for a day. And I want to be good at training. And stop being afraid of everything."

She rolled onto her side, coming to rest against his arm, shocked that he didn't shy away from any placement of body parts. She traced her eyes down his chest while looking for a response but ended up distracted by how plucky his fur was.

"You know, everyone struggles with that. Jean didn't even want to leave her house. I think you're braver than the rest of us. No one else really has to worry about everyone knowing we're mutants. As long as we don't use our powers, we're good." She started smoothing the fur with the pads of her fingers as she spoke, ignoring the rise in Kurt's heart rate. If he wanted her to stop, he would say it. "It’s okay to miss home too. It's safe there." She let her hand rest on his stomach. "You'll get better at training; it just takes time. You are good at other things. This is a new thing."

"I don’t have any special skills."

"You're the best teleporter I've ever seen." She scrunched up her nose, tossing her head to drive the point home. "You've gotta be good at something. Everyone is."

"What are you good at?"

"I don't know. Piano? Singing? Being pissy? You go. What are you good at? If there was one thing your mom bragged about, what would it be?"

"I can climb trees." He rose to his elbows to look at her and slumped back down. "I guess."

"I can't climb trees." She went back to smoothing fur down, this time laying more on top of him, cheek pressed against his shoulder.

"Really?"

"I did as a kid but like now? No thanks."

"It is not hard."

"Why don't you teach me?" Her mischievous side would always appeal to him; such vigor couldn't exist without someone to exacerbate it.

"What?"

"Teach me to climb trees. I've taught you stuff, you teach me something. Put a shirt on and let's go."

He hesitated for a few seconds, letting his eyes fall shut and his chin rest to her head. They shifted once for Kurt to wrap his arm around her shoulders. They settled for a few minutes, small ministrations and warmth abundant. She eventually patted his belly to stir them both unsuccessfully, followed by dragging her fingers up, disturbing fur along the way. He pulled at her hair at the nape of her neck and forced her to look at him. She met him with half-lidded eyes and a coy grin.

"That is not very smart, Kuschelbär."

"I don't know what that means."

"Well, isn't that too bad for you?" He released her hair and unwound himself to find a discarded shirt. "We should get up before someone gets ideas."

"Before _who_ gets ideas?" She posed the question as she arched her back and sighed into a big stretch from under the blanket. 

"_You_. Let's go find a tree."

He held out his hand, expecting her to willingly take it. She only stretched again, making a big show accompanied by loud groans and pillows thrown on the floor. He didn’t appear amused and let his hand hang in the air. She eventually reached out and took it only to be instantly assaulted by wind and leaves crunching around her. Once she regained her senses, she pressed harshly against Kurt's chest, forcing her nose against his sternum. Arms wrapped back around her, and they swayed, someone attempting to keep balance. The swaying stopped despite the wind, and the two mutants stayed hugging each other

"I have you. It's okay."

"What?"

"I'm not gonna let you fall. Sit down." He straddled the branch first, letting her stay close as she hooked her legs around his. His tail tucked around her waist as he reached past her to grip the branch behind her. She still pressed against his chest; this time curled tightly within his torso.

"You _are_ pretty bad at this." He chuckled at her, trying to lighten her mood. He believed he had succeeded, but she would never tell him that it was really the crackle in his voice that rose in pitch with his words. "Just open your eyes."

Once he leaned back against the trunk of the tree, she opened her eyes and looked only at him.

"You should have warned me."

"Ja, Es tut mir Leid. You're doing better now." He looped his hands around her back, finding that she felt more confident the more she was fused to his body. She peeked out and around, eyes wide as if every danger needed to be identified at once.

"I don't think this counts as being good at climbing trees, Kurt."

"Teleportation does not, but this is tree climbing class. If you can get down, you can get up."

"Oooooh no, absolutely not. Put me on the ground, right now."

"Put yourself down there." He smiled and looked below to the ground.

"Kurt, I will actually kick your shit in if you make me do this."

"I can't do it if you hold on to me." At his words, she latched her arms around his chest. "I could sit here all day. It is Saturday after all."

"Won't that hurt your balls?"

"What?"

"I don't know, I don't have any."

"No, the professor just asked us to come inside."

"If he didn't say why it's not that important."

"When you're nice to them, they don't hurt."

"What?"

"Balls."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She leaned over to look down through their arms, legs, branches, and leaves until she spotted grass. Realizing that she couldn't make out any blades or imperfections in the solid grass spiked anxiety between them. She leaned to his chest again, hearing affirmations that she was safe. Kurt really wouldn't make her climb down on her own. Would he?

"You're not gonna make me do this, are you?"

"No, this was just my ploy to seduce you." His accent was more prominent as he tried to pronounce words he'd only read before.

"_Kurt,_” she lowered her voice as she sat back to eyeball his expression

"No, I won't. I'll take you down if you sit up here with me for a while. If you're up to it."

"I can sit, as long as you promise to help me down." He nodded and tucked her under his chin once again. "If this was your ploy to seduce me, it might have worked with anyone else."

"Ja? Wie denn?"

"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?"

"Short, like you."

"Tree sexy."

He scrunched his face up and stilled the rest of his body, contemplating if other people thought trees were sexy, until she popped her hand on his shoulder blade. "I'm kidding."

"Please, explain the joke, I did not quite get it."

"It wasn't that good now that I think about it."

"Give me the long answer."

He sighed above her, letting his eyes fall shut as his tail swayed below them, occasionally catching a foot or twig. A few seconds passed before he felt the intensity of someone gearing up to say something. He fluttered between ideas of what she would say, and which parts of her statement were important. Did it matter that it would work on anyone else, meaning she didn't find that attraction to him? But she still spends time around him and has no frets touching him. She even seems to seek it out sometimes. But that might just be how she operates with other people that she likes. Everyone else has also said she can be mean, Scott's said she manipulative, Jean said she's always got an ulterior motive, whatever that means. Did it mean she needs to be seduced in other ways? If the stretching she did ten minutes ago wasn't seductive in any right, what did it mean to her? Maybe Kurt was just gross for thinking of any of this as anything other than friendship. How did she ten-

"I think it's closeness. Closeness and support make people happy. Taking someone to the top of a tree suddenly tests their trust. It builds it. If you did that to me for no reason, even under the guise of tree-climbing lessons though, I absolutely would knock you on your ass."

"What?"

"Like it takes a lot of trust to be up here with someone. You could push them, or they might fall and just die, or they might be allergic to pine trees."

"This is not a pine tree."

She patted his back again, turning to face the opposite direction.

"It's more intimate than you would think."

"_Intimate_?"

"That's what we're supposed to be learning, isn't it? That's what Xavier and Ororo and maybe Logan are trying to get us to understand. We have to be close to each other to be X-Men."

"I believe they did say that."

"No, like this is really what they mean. Not trust each other to do things but trust each other with our lives." She tilted her head up to rest her chin on his shoulder, arms tucked between them. Kurt responded to her obvious attempts to find warmth by rubbing her arms.

They both sat, alternating between contemplating the truth to what she said and the dampening air around them. Rain drizzled from the sky, barely penetrating the leaves that surrounded them. Kurt pointed out squirrels hustling and bustling up the trees as they avoided the weather. After a few minutes spent on pronouncing the word "squirrel," they made their way inside as the rain started to get to them. They teleported into Elaina's room, nearly tripping over clothes and the wayward plant she inherited from Ororo a few weeks ago. Two of its leaves dribbled onto the soil below, brown just starting to climb from the stalk to the rest of the plant. The plant was scooped up and sat closer to the balcony doors that shuttered and flung open a few times. She closed them lightly and felt Kurt's eyes wander over to her after their journey around her new mess.

"What's up?"

"Just watching you." He plopped down on her bed and ran his fingers through his hair to speed the drying process.

"What for?"

"No reason."

A knock broke their conversation as Logan and Ororo came to speak to them.

"Why exactly did you elect to ignore Chuck's request?" Logan growled at them as Kurt pointed innocently to Elaina.

"If it's important, they'll call back."

"That's not ho—"

"We've been hoping to speak to you both, it just so happened that well-placed showers brought you inside." Ororo smiled at them both, a hint of smug present.

"About what?" Kurt stood up and joined Elaina closer to the door.

"We believe you both could benefit from training together."

Elaina's face lit up at Ororo's words, and she started exclaiming before Logan's hand shot up.

"So, we'll alternate training you both. You're with me Monday morning."

Her mouth snapped shut, a near emptiness returning to her eyes that was ever-present when she was faced with most people. Logan dropped his hand and gave her a smidgen of pity before continuing.

"We're working on Elaina's powers, but don't think you're off the hook, Elf."

"So, it's not gonna be fun for anyone." Elaina crossed her arms and glared off to the side.

"We'll see what Tuesday brings." Ororo winked at her and said farewells to them all. Logan hesitated for a minute in the doorway, seemingly deciding between grilling them or giving someone pity. He closed the door behind him without words, returning a few seconds later to pop it back open. The two teens relaxed, both from their more inclusive trainings and from the message that they _didn't_ get from their instructors. Elaina's irritation returned to her and Kurt patted her shoulder.

"Look on the bright side, we don't have to finish that maze?" Kurt tried to get her to sit on the bed next to him, but she opted for dropping to the floor.

"We'll have to finish it at some point."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with that, I'm just not in the best mood."

"You were in a pretty good mood a few minutes ago."

"Hm."

He moved to lay on his stomach, looking down at her from his vantage point. His mind started wandering at her non-answer and he replayed the moment her mood dropped. It was only noticeable after she learned they would be training together.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"You don't wanna train together, do you?"

"What? No, I do, I like training with you."

"Then why did that news upset you?"

"I guess I was hoping for something else."

"Like what?"

"I had asked them before to let me lead your training. I thought that's what they meant."

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why would you lead my training?"

"Maybe it would help."

They both settled, one of them soaked in a brainstorm of how to fix this particular problem. He sat there for a few minutes, leaning on his crossed arms and the bed frame.

"You could still train me."

"Logan and Ororo are training us together."

"And why is that stopping us?"

"Do you know how much trouble secret training sessions would get us in?"

"I do not believe this is the attitude you would have any other time."

"Yeah, and what would I say any other time?"

"It's only bad if we get caught."

She sat straighter to look at him, some fire returning to her eyes.

"It'll be hard."

"It'll be fun."

"That will put us at three training sess's on some days."

"I'll sleep better on those days." They smiled at each other and fist-bumped at Kurt's insistence. "So what's the schedule, Professor?"

"No, absolutely not. That's not how this is gonna work."

"Ma'am?"

"No."

"Queen Regent?"

"Kurt, no. My name. Call me my name." She bobbed her hands to emphasize the message.

"What's the training schedule, my liege?"

"Meet me in the control room at midnight tonight."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Kurt faked a salute in her direction before popping out of the room.

She spent a few minutes thinking of how well this would play out given that she is both in training herself and also doesn't know a damn thing about the danger room. She shrugged and flopped into bed, noticing the warm spot left by Kurt's body. She would have to take a mid-afternoon nap regardless of how tired she was now.

* * *

The sound of the elevator set her body on alert as she typed away at the control room keyboard. It revealed Nightcrawler in full uniform, looking like he had just woken up.

"Good morning, trainee."

"Good afternoon, chief."

"Are you ready?"

"You're not gonna make it hard, are you?" He leaned forward to look into the danger room, pressing his hands against the glass.

Below them a few simulated people stood out, running idle animations within their programmed spots. Some walls jutted upwards, creating safety behind them. A few tables, chairs, and pipes littered the ground of what looked like might be a warehouse of sorts.

"It's a level 0. A human with some training and average strength could do this."

Kurt looked back at her, face drenched in worry and doubt. She moved to wrap an arm around his back.

"That means that by the end of tonight, you'll do great. My theory is that with a little coaching and some confidence boosters, you can easily beat this."

"Do I get the coaching now or later?"

"Later. I want to see how you go at this on your own right now. What's Nightcrawler's style?" She motioned to the danger room and nodded. "Go ahead, get in there."

He groaned and ported to where they would enter the room from outside the danger room. He took on a defensive stance and waited for the animated people to start moving. A voice snapped him out of the trance he had entered.

"Remember Nightcrawler, I'm not gonna let you get too beat up, alright?"

He nodded and swallowed the collection of saliva he had taken up. The room came to life as two of the people in front of him picked up weapons. He copied their movements and selected a thick pipe. One of them rushed him and he teleported onto the ceiling. They began throwing the various items at him; a chair had enough force to knock him to the ground. He landed on a pile of boxes that puffed dust at him. He opted to hide between rows of skids and pallets. The figures moved around him, unable to see or hear his movements. He located a weapon and jumped out to strike one of the smaller figures. It dissipated, the danger room accepting that he hit with enough force to knock the person out. The rest of the crew located him and the first to see him rushed him again, this time reaching him before he could teleport. It froze before it touched him and he cringed, waiting for the inevitable "not too beat up." Flux's voice rung out near him and he spotted her walking into the room. He teleported to behind her, just in front of the entrance to the room.

"You did good! How do you feel?"

"Uuhh, alright. I guess. Did I lose?"

"There's no winning or losing right now. This is practice."

"Okay?"

"Are you ready for the coaching?"

"I suppose."

"Danger room, reset!" She yelled upwards and the warehouse went back to an organized state of decay. "So, first things first."

"Okay."

"You need to chill out just a little. It's okay." She took his face between her hands and forced his eye contact. "You're not hurt, I am in control of the danger room, and those guys aren't real."

He took a deep breath and hissed it out, nodding once he finished. They both turned to the room of people.

"So, I like that you did a little bit of offense. A Nightcrawler that can run is good, but we also want a Nightcrawler that can kick ass." She waited for his nod and continued speaking. "Next time, you need to take an inventory of what there is around you and what you can do with them." She walked in between the items, Kurt tailing a few feet behind. "These tables and chairs will pack a punch if you can get one of them going, as you learned the hard way."

He cringed again and groaned a little bit more.

"This is where you might have an advantage. I'd like to see you work a little bit more with your environment. You can teleport people with you and dropping one of them will both disorient and get them a little closer to not being a problem. Throw a chair at them from above, drop a table on them. If you can beam someone with a pipe from the ceiling, they're most likely gonna go down for a few." She motioned as she spoke to direct his attention. "What do you think?"

"Do you think it will work?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out. And besides, if it doesn't, you've got other options."

He nodded in response and eyeballed one of the simulations.

"This leads us to the next thing I want you to work on. It bounces off of the 'taking inventory' thing. You need to be able to figure out what's happening around you in terms of danger. Who do you think you should worry about first?"

"All of them?"

"Not quite. You need to think about two things: how much they can hurt you, how hard it will be for you to take them out. These big guys? They can pack a punch, but you're smaller and faster than them. Easy to take out, dangerous to approach. The smaller guys, they won't hurt as much, but they might be able to keep up with you. Understand?"

He nodded back with a demeanor approaching relaxed.

"So what's your plan?"

"Take out the big guy immediately, from above with a table."

"Which big guy?"

"The closest guy?" She nodded and rolled her hand to get him to continue. "And then the rest of the big guys?"

"Okay, how?"

"If I teleport around them, they won't be fast enough to get me." She nodded and pressed for him to move on again. "Then I will hide and attack the smaller guys head-on. I'm stronger than them, but they might be able to keep up with me. I need to get them faster than the big guys."

"That sounds feasible. Do you wanna try again? Do you need anything else before I go back up? A pep talk?"

"One pep talk please." He held up his finger, a lighter tone coming to his words. She grabbed his shoulders and forced his gaze again. He readily took it, not shying from a chance to study her face without repercussion.

"You _can_ do this. You have enough training, you're able, and you're smart. Whatever happens, work with it. If you need some more guidance, I'm right upstairs, not letting you get too hurt."

"Okay, I need one more thing." She raised an eyebrow at him and tilted her head. "You keep saying 'not too beat up' and 'too hurt' but what do you mean? Am I allowed to get a little hurt?"

"I say that because I can't guarantee you won't be bruised tomorrow, but I can guarantee that you won't die." She gave him a smug grin and patted his shoulders. "See you in a few." She walked towards the door and flung her arm behind her. "Remember! Use your environment and assess your baddies!"

She disappeared behind the door and Nightcrawler held his breath waiting for the simulation to start again. He quickly took in the objects around him before the start sound droned from the control room. He leapt onto a table, taking two ceramic mugs in his tail, and teleporting with the table to the ceiling above the people. He waited for two of them to come close beneath him and he released the table, effectively disorienting them both. They recovered seemingly quickly, and he followed the table with two ceramic mugs. One of them was caught and launched back at him, shattering on his shoulder and sending pain through the muscle there. He felt himself begin to panic at the blood dripping onto the floor below as more stuff came at him. He bounced along the ceiling to avoid it, teleporting behind a table to seek refuge. All of the enemies started fanning out to look for him and his heart raced increased as he felt blood and panic set into his skin. They stopped in their tracks and Flux's voice followed.

"Do you want to stop?"

"No, I can finish it!"

"Restarted in 2."

Seconds passed and they began combing again. Nightcrawler spotted a cut piece of wood and he snatched it up as a smaller target approached. He slid behind two pallets of boxes and waited for it to pass. As it did, he crept out, raised the board and brought it down on the top of its head. It whipped around to see a puff of smoke. Another crack against the back of the head, and it disintegrated.

He teleported again to the ceiling, this time armed with another table and a singular ceramic mug. He dropped it to the floor with a crash and quickly latched to the ceiling with his fingers. He held the table with this toes and waited for the investigative figures to disappear under him. He let go of the ceiling and came crashing down on them both, the combined weight of the table and his body, knocking them out and sending them digital once again.

He placed himself in the open on a chair and waited for the final enemy to get near him. It caught view of him and charged his position. He jumped up, running toward it. It hit smoke and propelled forward as he tackled it into the chair that he had occupied a few seconds ago. It disappeared below him and the sweet sound of drone signified the completion of his training.

"Get up here, 'Crawler!"

She met his toothy grin with a bear hug and a loud cheer. He grimaced and held his shoulder again. She came back sticky and slightly disgusted with the exchange.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"First of all, I hugged you, second of all—" She let out a squeal and cheered with him again. "You finished your first session! And with only a minor injury! How do you feel?"

"Good and bad."

"Let's go find you a Band-Aid or something."

He nodded and followed behind her through their small infirmary after she shut down the danger room. He stripped the top half of his suit and started combing through his fur to find the offending cut. Blood continued to coat his fingers as she came over with a small bowl of water, a rag, and some gauze. She took over sifting through his fur and told him to relax.

"You spend a lot of time shirtless in front of me, you know that?"

"It's all a part of my ploy to seduce you, remember?" Tired eyes and light laughter gave away how beat he was.

"You're not all that shy anymore."

"Not with you."

"Why?" She smiled, a playful air returning to their discussion.

"I don't worry about what you think as much."

"My opinion doesn't matter anymore?"

"No, I know you're not gonna be a dick to me."

"Kurt, your naïveté is showing."

"I mean it. I trust you." He lolled his head to the side and closed his eyes, only a slightly pained look showing through. Her movements to clean the blood from his fur slowed and she got closer to look at the cut.

"I think this might need a stitch or two."

"So, we get caught on our first night of secret training because of me." He looked down at his shoulder as she inspected it, creating the slightest double chin next to her hand. She stopped and looked up at him.

"You think I can't do a stitch or two?"

"Can you do a stitch or two?"

"I can indeed."

"Get to it, I'm tired."

She left for a few seconds to get the requisite tools and returned to Kurt breathing deeply. She dragged a chair and a small table next to him, causing him to lift an eyelid.

"You might wanna be awake for this one." She spread out more gauze, cotton balls, a small suture kit, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "I wanna warn you that this isn't gonna feel super great. I can wake up the professor, but I don't think it'll feel much better if he does it."

"I'm more worried about that." He nodded his head towards the curved needle she pulled out.

"I don't like needles either. Anytime I've had to get blood drawn, I panic but once the needle's in I'm good. I'll watch them drain me. It's the anticipation, I guess."

"How do you deal with it?"

"I just don't look. Wait for it to be over. Distract myself." She spoke as she patted most of the blood off, making a displeased face at the blood that tried to replace it. "I'm gonna throw some juice on it, it's gonna burn though."

He nodded and she held gauze under the injury before dumping about a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol on it. She blew on it immediately afterward, trying not to laugh at his hissing.

"You were right."

"I tried."

She spent a few more minutes alternating between rubbing alcohol and patting the blood off before she told him it was needle time. He tilted his head upward and his breathing became obviously more controlled.

"Aren't you gonna distract me?"

"With what?"

"Tell me a story. Tell me how you know how to do stitches." He snuck a peek at her, and she strung a smile on her face.

"Well. I'm not exactly the best X-Man ever. I used to come down here all the time when I shouldn't have."

She stopped speaking to pull gloves on her hands and apply the final douse of rubbing alcohol.

"I used to come down here and work out. I'd punch the shit out of that old bag for hours. Logan told me it would help manage my anger. And it did, it just wasn't the most effective method."

She pushed into his skin and rubbed his calf with hers when he made a small noise.

"It worked only so much; I was still a huge asshole to everyone. So, my nightly routine of running sims and punching stuff left me with a few bumps and bruises."

She created the first loop and tied it off. She patted blood away with another gauze pad and crossed her leg to rest on his knee. His tail flung around behind him and she requested he tuck it somewhere. He opted for around her thigh, looping it between the space created by her crossed leg. She started the second stitch and continued speaking.

"I eventually got pretty good at doing first aid and Logan taught me how to do stitches after I got one during a real training session. I think he knew I was doing more dangerous stuff but like it was worth me not being a bitch to everyone around me."

"You were that bad?"

"I was _that_ bad. It was when Jean first got here, and Scott was like 15, and honestly, I just wanted everyone around me to fuck off. That's why a lot of them warned you off me. I'll give them credit though; I do still struggle to deal with people. Just not to that level."

The stitch was finished and a new one began before Kurt could relax. His tail squeezed intermittently, displacing the skin and muscle of her thigh. His hands started fidgeting, inadvertently flexing and relaxing the muscles she was working above. She directed him to either stop moving or hold on to something. She wasn't surprised to find that he chose to rest his hand on her knee, noting that his fingers sat on the sensitive skin just behind it.

"So, I learned to do stitches and had to do them pretty frequently in the beginning. Now, I'm just kinda buff and good at martial arts."

She eventually placed the last stitch and took the time to clean it again before patting his leg. She tried to stand but his tail was wrapped so tightly she didn't have much wiggle room. Kurt gave her another tired smiled and reached out to give her a fist bump. He winced a little and dropped his arm back down. He attempted to pull his suit back on and winced again, a similar problem arising. She told him to just let it go as she ushered him back through the door and into the mansion. They shared quiet conversations through the building until reaching Kurt's room. She stopped in the doorway to watch him gather things he needed for a shower. He returned to her and leaned against the door.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. The training and the stitches and the tree." He looked down at their feet and compared her small, wide feet to his longer, thinner, three-toed ones.

"You're welcome. We won't do much for a few days since you're an injured X-Man."

"This won't save me from training on Monday."

"We're working with my powers, remember?"

"I'm not off the hook, _remember_?"

"We'll see what we can do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys enjoy this one. I like this chapter a lot and had a lot of fun editing and writing it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're back in the woods and also the danger room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if I made things harder

The following day was rougher than they had thought. Kurt woke early to make sure he could make it to mass, passing by each room to see if anyone else was awake. The rest of the students had elected to sleep in on Sunday, despite how much work was waiting for them the next week. Midterms were starting, and most teachers had chosen to couple tests with essays being due. It was a hellish decision on their part.

He ran into Ororo on the way down the stairs. Literally. He gripped his shoulder again, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She did. She started to question him before he interrupted her saying he needed to head out and would talk to her later. He wouldn't. He made it there with time to spare. He spent a bit of time just looking around. He was still new to this church, and its sprawling size shocked him. He had seen the small church his parents attended in Germany and couldn't begin to compare them. He was greeted multiple times by people killing time, one of which seemed familiar enough to converse with. They discussed school, how the weather changed so quickly around Bayville, and of course, details on every bit of Germany that Kurt could make up. That trick only backed up a handful of times but was slowly getting more effective.

They eventually sat down for service, pausing to repeat and respond. They were led in prayer frequently, Kurt raising his head slowly as closing his eyes was a dangerous game after their previous late-night excursion. After a little over an hour, they were excused to mix and mingle. Kurt got caught by a few people, to which he politely staved off before any more conversation could start. He made his way out quickly, making it more noticeable that he was trying to get somewhere. The coffee shop a few blocks away would be bustling in a few minutes as anyone in Bayville that worked a 9-5 would be trying to get their morning caffeine. He beat a majority of the crowd and ordered what he believed would be the best way to wake up. After receiving the food, he snuck around the building and teleported back to the mansion. He arrived in the still house, Ororo and Charles conversing quietly in the foyer. They greeted him and Ororo stood, a question riding on her expression. She began to speak, and Kurt interrupted her again, explaining that he had hot food he wanted to eat before it got cold. He took the stairs two at a time and tried to relax before reaching Elaina's room. Keeping up a lie was plausible until you're in the midst of it, and Ororo, one of the most stubborn women ever, definitely knows something's going on. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When none came, he opened the door and peeked in to see her still wrapped in her comforter. The top of her head poked out, hair strewn about, the blanket pulled up to her nose. He closed the door behind him and moved to open the curtains.

"Touch those curtains and I'll kick you in your boo-boo."

"I did not know you were awake."

She sat up and rubbed at her eyes, stretching loudly from behind her piled up blankets.

"Hence, you trying to wake me up like a mom in a sitcom."

"I don't know what that means."

"What's that."

The pitch in her voice rose with the expectation that the bag was the purpose of the visit. She perked up more, suddenly more awake than a few seconds ago.

" Do not worry about it."

"I'm gonna worry about it, did you get bagels? Are they warm? Kurt, did you get a bagel for me? Why are you in here?"

She grilled him quickly, stalking closer until they were dancing around each other, the bag staying away from her despite her assumptions being correct. Kurt wore a cheeky grin, calmly avoiding her swipes at the food. She huffed and gave up, climbing back under the blanket, suddenly aware that it was chilly, and she slept without a bra or pants.

"When you're ready to tell me what's up, I'll be here, _warm_."

He chuckled and jumped onto her bed, pulling out a wrapped bagel for her. She gasped in response.

"Aluminum means it's got stuff on it!" She took it from his hands and thanked him. They both adjusted so that they could sit crisscrossed facing each other, the blanket draped over their shoulders. She started to unwrap her sandwich, speed decreasing as she drooped her shoulders. She pouted at him for a few seconds, hoping that he would eventually look her way.

"I got it no cheese." He didn't stop to acknowledge her pout. "Beggars can't be choosers, Kuschelbär."

"I don't recall begging."  
"Not _yet_."

They both raised eyebrows at each other while Elaina unwrapped her sandwich. He held the bag out and she opened her hands to receive whatever he had left to gift her. He upturned it to dispense packets of ketchup into her palms. Kurt had been adamant about trying new foods but couldn't get away from how much he liked bagels and lox. He also had enough knowledge of Elaina's food preferences to be able to get her food she might actually enjoy. Turkey sausage and an egg on a bagel with ketchup was simple, but a pain to order. He could get away with it though, it wasn’t his food. Sounds of eating filled the room in what might become their Sunday morning routine.

"How are you feeling?"

"I always feel better after church."

"No, your shoulder. Your boo-boo."

"It is okay. Hard to move? But not as painful."

"I should have told you it would be stiff."

"Stiff?"

"Hard to move."

"Ah, ja."

"How was church?"

"It was good."

They both chewed on their food for a few seconds while Elaina nodded at him.

"Okay, now tell me the truth," she asked before taking another bite.

"I _could not_ stay awake. I felt bad because the priest does a good service, but I was so tired."

She chuckled at his exasperation and finished off the last bite of her sandwich.

"Maybe we'll have to change our schedule." She brushed crumbs off her lap and swatted at his non-problematic shoulder. "Also, where do you get off coming home from church and then insinuating that I'll beg later? Aren't there rules like don't be horny on Sunday?"

"Actually, the rule is don't be horny unless you're married and want to make a baby. But no one listens to that rule anyway."

"So, Catholics aren't allowed to bang unless they're making a baby?"

"I'm not sure. It is out of our control so perhaps it's only if you are okay with getting a baby from it?" He stopped to think a little more. "No, it is definitely that you are only to bang if you want to make a baby."

"You mean to tell me God only had sex once in his life, and that was to make Jesus?"

"He didn't even have sex to make Jesus."

"_What_?"

He scoffed and tucked his arms around his belly.

"Maybe you should just read the Bible."

"Maybe you should read it to me."

"I am done reading to you, it stresses me out."

"Have you done any reading for class?"

"Ja, we have a science test coming up."

"We have a history essay coming up too."

"Do not remind me." He flopped into her lap and covered his eyes with his arm. "Do you think he'll accept it in German?"

"I think he would laugh in your face."

Kurt groaned and covered up more with the blanket. She started running her fingers through his hair, lulling him to sleep.

"Let's take a nap instead of thinking about it."

"Maybe they're right about me being a bad influence on you."

"What do you propose we do instead?"

"We could go find Scott and Jean and bug them?"

Kurt smiled beneath his arm and drummed his tail beneath the covers.

"I believe they said we were 'heckling' them last time we did that."

"Let's move Scott's stuff around in his room."

"We could do actual homework."

"Eugh, what for?"

"We have a busy weekend coming up, ja?"

They both brightened up and Kurt rolled to his side.

"Are you excited yet? At all?" she asked.

"I am excited and also nervous."

"What for?"

"Being close to people that don't know for that long. What if they find out?"

"Kurt, it's chill, they aren’t gonna find out. It'll be chilly anyway; you can wear your suit and just not touch any of them."

"I know. What if they don't like me?"

"They already like you. They think you singlehandedly shoplifted liquor for fun as a teenager."

"Oh, ja." He chuckled before curling sideways against her legs. Her legs were promptly thrown over his side.

"Besides, you're gonna get to see so much stuff this weekend. For one weekend, we can exist however we want with no repercussions."

"Your friends will know, ja?"

"Oh, please. There's a rule about these kinds of trips. Whatever happens, stays in the van. At the end of last school year, we went to Maine," she sat up and bounced as she spoke. "It was just me, Oli and Janey. But let me explain to you that Janey is an absolute mess when she's drunk. Oli chilled her out for a while, like _just_ enough to get her to sleep. I guess it did something for both of them because the next morning they were rocking the van DESPITE both of them having a boyfriend and girlfriend at the time."

Kurt's mouth fell open and she continued talking before he could question her.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I totally told their respective girl and boyfriends. I'm not cool with cheating and they told me later that they weren't really feeling their relationships anymore."

"But you have told me."

"Well everyone knows about _that_. If you find out about other stuff that happened on our trips, it's up to the offenders."

"Bummer. Who is Janey again?"

"Just an ex-friend, completely unimportant. Definitely a story for another time. It'll be fun though, I'm sure we're gonna get into some shit this time."

"Not if we don't finish our homework."

"That's a different kind of shit."

"Will you help me write my essay?"

"Help how?"

"My fingers don't work so well on keyboards."

"So, you just want me to type for you? I can do that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you'll just have to tell me what you want me to write."

Kurt winced at the truth of the arrangement and turned to lay flat on his stomach.

"What if you just do it for me?"

"Kurt, that's not very studious of you. Besides, I have no idea what's happening in that class, and _you_ do." She poked his back a few times. "So, we can outline together, I'll type and edit your essay, and then I'll do mine. Then we'll both do good."

"You don't know what's happening in class?"

"I sleep through it like on a daily. I don't know how you don't notice."

"It is interesting! And if I do not focus, I won't understand."

"You're such a nerd sometimes."

"What is a nerd?"

"You is a nerd." She poked him again and jumped up from the bed. "Let's go do it now, this weekend before we get stuck with it this week."

"How exactly is this exchange fair? I provide the information and you provide the fingers?"

"One day you'll just have to give me fingers to make up for it?"

"You are not worth the trouble sometimes, Bärchen."

"One day I will be." Her sing-song voice drifted down the hallway, beckoning him to follow.

They spent the rest of the afternoon creating a draft of Kurt's essay, spending more time on it than they definitely should have needed. After pausing several times for snack breaks, pee breaks, a Logan-asking-what-the-hell-they're-yelling-about break, and one actual break, they had a rough idea of how to write the essay. He took a while to settle into dictating his thoughts to Elaina, but they were eventually able to get him to the point of just thinking aloud with references to the jumbled mess of an outline they collaborated on. Despite most of it being in German and the frequent search for translations they had yet to learn, they were able to have the "meat and potatoes" of the essay completed.

"Is writing for school always this annoying?" he rested his head on his arm, completely disinterested and ready to stop for the night.

"What do you mean?"

"Outlining, drafting, editing. It's all boring."

"Do you wanna know a secret?"

"What?"

"I've never actually written an essay like this."

"What?! Then why are you making me write like this?"

"I know it's how you're supposed to do it; I just don't do it."

"How do you do it?"

"When I actually do homework, I just sit down and go for it. I type until I'm done and then I print and go. I never look at it again."

"That would not work for me, I'm too jumbled."

"Well, then that's why I made you outline and shit."

He made a face at her and stood up to stretch. She spun away from the computer in the library and stretched her legs.

"Do you ever wonder if your organs are in the same spots?"

"Excuse me?"

"Like you've got some extra bits already, some alterations on God's grand design for homo sapien; what if you just got like no small intestine?"

"I think it's all right?"

"Do you think you'll ever find out?"

"I give you permission to find out when I die."

"What if I die first?"

"Then we will never know. I think I am more likely to die first anyway, ja?"

"Men die younger and I'm already beating you by a year."

"Speaking of which, how are we in the same class but you are older?"

"Truthfully or like..."

"Yes? Why would I want a lie, it's a real question."

"I failed a grade."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, here, if you fail enough classes, they make you redo the whole year."

"How many classes is that?"

"Four out of seven classes gets you bumped back."

They both went quiet before Kurt spoke again.

"Are you failing classes right now?"

"No, god no. Xavier would have my head if I did that again." She scrunched up her face as she spoke and turned to face the computer again.

"Would you tell me if you were?"

"Probably not."

Kurt rolled his eyes and sat back down to finish their work. They worked together for a few more hours until Scott and Jean rolled in to bother them as much as they bothered Jean and Scott. A few minutes of sneering, snarky remarks, and rolled eyes left them all distracted enough to start a mock argument that left them all trying not to laugh. Eventually a movie was suggested, leading to blatant attempts to not sit next to each other. The younger teens ended up falling asleep towards the end of the movie despite Scott and Jean flinging consistent jabs at the movie that everyone had seen before. They didn't notice their sleeping friends right away, only coming to the conclusion after Kurt didn't answer a question about learning English.

"Have you ever read their mind? Or heard their thoughts?" Scott questioned.

"Not on purpose, no. Sometimes Kurt projects a little."

"Really? What have you heard?"

"Just some interesting things about Elaina and how she acts around him."

"Like what?"

"Geez, Scott, I swear you're worse than a woman. They're his thoughts, not mine to share."

"Oh, come on, it's probably stuff he would tell me anyway."

"Think of it like locker room talk. You wouldn't share with me what he says in there."

"Ugh, fine, I'll drop it."

"But if you want to tell me what he says, I'm all ears."

"And I'm the bad one here? Respect the bro code!"

"I'll tell you what Elaina has said."

"Deal!"

Scott said this a little too loudly, and inadvertently woke Kurt. He had spent enough time eavesdropping to know to stay quiet and listen intently. The conversation continued at a whisper.

"Tell me what Kurt's said first."

"He's definitely interested in her."

"If that's all you're gonna give me, that's all you're gonna get."

"She's touchy all the time and has continuously flirted with him under the guise of teaching him to flirt."

"I don't think she actually believes that he believes that."

"I don't know much else; Kurt doesn't really say anything."

"Oh, Scott. So, you don't hear all the other stuff?"

"There's other stuff?"

"_Oh yes._ Very much so."

"Well, come on."

"Elaina isn't shy to tell me about the shenanigans they get up to."

"Okay, so tell me!"

"She said she takes every chance she can get to touch him. She's really into the fur apparently, but she doesn't know if it's weird to like it."

"Define into."

"She seems really curious about it mostly, but there's definitely some underlying appeal there."

"Interesting!"

"Mhmm. She's also agreed to go on a date with him. _Oh_, hold on, I have to tell you how that happened." Jean moved closed to sit next to Scott on the couch, making them able to speak even lower. "Apparently, she asked him to play with her hair, because she was sleepy or something, and he did it, but she entirely felt something while he did it."

"Like felt something, felt him?"

"No, felt...herself?" Jean tilted her head as she tried to organize the words. "Like it did something for her. She said she didn't know what to do about it, because and I quote 'how do you interrupt something like that because it makes you wet,' and I get that, but Kurt had no idea."

"Are we sure he didn't have any idea?"

"We aren't ever gonna know because we didn't have this conversation, and I'm not asking him."

"Wait, how did the date happen then?"

"Before that happened, she asked him to play with her hair, and he pretty much said 'what's in it for me,' and now they might go on a date."

Scott let out a low whistle.

"That guy works fast. I think that's like twice now he's asked for a date."

"She also told me that they talked about the first time and Kurt said he didn't really mean it but figured it was worth a shot. And now they have a date."

"So, they are technically dating."

"I don’t think they think so, but it seems that way."

"Is that all she's told you?"

"No, it's mostly the fur and the touching. She's made a lot of jokes about doing the _you know what_ with him, but I don't know how far those ones go."

"At least Kurt's direct."

"Kurt just came right out and said it?"

"Oh yeah."

"_Oh_, also Logan has complained about them a few times being loud, but that's neither here nor there."

"Loud how?"

"Just roughhousing but who knows other than Logan."

"I think we would know if it did happen."

"Oh definitely, Kurt projects when he's excited about new cereal."

"That's just 'cause there's a toy in there."

"Exhibit A."

"Did you hear that their trainings got merged?"

"Kurt was telling me about it; he's really excited."

The aforementioned X-man jumped up at that moment and slunk over to his partner in crime. He nudged her awake and reminded her that they had early training the next day. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes at the two on the couch. She glared up at Kurt and took his hand to stand up, instead finding that it was to 'port.

"Scott, he definitely heard us."

"Oh yeah. It's fine. It'll be okay. He didn't seem mad about it."

"Scott, that means he heard about how much Elaina is into him." She reached over and gripped his arm when he took a few seconds to respond.

"Well, we'll see what happens. It can't be that bad."

"No, that means Elaina's gonna know I told you."

"_Oh_. That's bad you for then."

* * *

Flux held onto the steel platform as Nightcrawler was ordered up to it. The session was calmer this morning, Ororo and Logan both taking note to the slower pace the students needed to build up their speed. He swung around the edge of the metal and crouched low beside her as she scowled out to the rest of the danger room. Perhaps if she kept her shoulders back, hips forward, and her fists clenched, the danger room's weaponry would be afraid of her. It didn't work and lasers were fired in their direction. She flung her hands out and attempted to recreate any absorption, dilution, deflection, or production tactics they drilled her on previously. Nothing happened and Nightcrawler was left to make an executive decision on teleporting them out of the way. He was expected to give her as much time as possible, strengthening his reaction time, speed of teleportation, and focus on the target behavior.

She barely flinched as he teleported them to a different sheet of metal about 5 meters away when chiming indicated that they were either done or switching gears. Logan called out above them and explained the new rules to the game. They would increase the laser reaction time to their re-arrival and add in a few new distractions to the game. He followed this with directions for Nightcrawler to stay on top of it and rely on his ability to flee to get them out of trouble if Flux couldn't.

A few more problems came up and Flux was able to absorb one energy projectile, but not two others. She seemed to get more irritated at the intrusions and hunched over, ready to lunge at whatever was coming her way. She kicked his tail off her calf with a glare in his direction, only receiving the smallest recoil back. The laser gun dropped from the ceiling, facing her directly for the next attack. They both braced, and found that once it fired, she was able to do some deflection. This came with a big caveat; it was sent directly into the mechanical parts of their platform, causing it to shoot upwards and sideways. Nightcrawler found himself drifting away from her in midair. He saw more fear in her eyes than he had in the past month as she realized the big problem with not touching Nightcrawler in that moment. The thought to reach out to her barely registered when he appeared there and they both attempted to crawl under the other's skin. He made the final jump to the ground and their shared relief painted their faces as they ignored their chests heaving against each other, their backs to the air.

The release vanished almost instantaneously as Flux looked behind and above Nightcrawler. She wrapped around his shoulders again and flung her hand out above them. He turned to see the platform hanging in the air, meters from where they were. It groaned and folded back down, taking its place in the floor. The teens sat idly for a few seconds, taking time to calm down and process what had happened. They peeled apart and looked around the room to check that it had entirely stopped moving.

Logan and Ororo both came in, stopping next to the kneeling X-Men.

"Well 'Ro?"

"Nightcrawler did a wonderful job showing restraint, quick thinking, and trusting in his abilities. Flux has shown incredible growth and demonstrated more of her abilities today than in her entire time here. I would call it a success for both of them."

Logan nodded as she spoke and stood the two X-Men up. A quick once over to make sure no injuries occurred, and they were both released to shower and get ready for school. Kurt beamed throughout the day, barely marred by Elaina's contrasting annoyance. The exchanges they had during this shift were almost rehearsed; he would make some small physical connection, they would make eye contact, followed by him smiling, teeth exposed and nose crinkled, and she responded with a weak smile, hardly lasting a second or showing anywhere past the corners of her lips.

Lunch was usually the most relaxed period but sometimes crept into being the most stressful if Scott or Elaina decided the other's bad mood wasn't terrible enough. Jean and Kurt had caught onto this trend over the month and were able to dilute the conversation with changed topics or careful mediation. Much to their disappointment, it didn't seem to be as effective as the same discussion returned four times. They only had so many fingers to point or analogies for the issue of Elaina's behavior. Jean and Kurt had decided a telepathic conversation might be more beneficial; it could block out the other two and allow them to fight it out like adults. The sound of Elaina slapping her hands on the table and the uncomfortable feeling of eyes drew them from their shared thoughts, not forgetting to drag along some panic. Kurt placed an insistent hand on her back that was unsuccessful in breaking her focus.

"Do you wanna do that date tonight?"

"What?" She whipped her head around to read his expression. Who knows if it would have been better for him to be serious or joking. "Are you serious? Kurt, I would literally rather die right now."

"Well, we can celebrate! After this morning, ja?"

"What happened this morning?" Scott interjected, still seeing red metaphorically and physically.

"As if it's your business, Scott!"

"I'm just curious! If Kurt's gonna bring it up in front of everyo—"

"We had a good class with Logan." Kurt looked pointedly at them and urged her to sit back down again. She leaned back into her chair and worked her jaw, contemplative and irritated.

"You really wanna do this tonight?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun. Maybe it'll make you less touchy." He poked her side to help his point.

"We hang out literally every day anyway. Why's this any different?"

"We can go see a real movie in a theater."

"We watch movies like ."

"You guys could go into the city. Do karaoke or something?" Jean chimed in, hoping something would catch Elaina's attention. It didn't seem like Kurt cared much about the activity they did.

"Do you think if we asked the professor nice enough he would buy us a PlayStation?" Elaina looked between the two older students while scribbling on the table.

"I hope so!" Kurt perked up at the suggestion.

"I don't think he'll go for it without some kind of offer on your part." Scott pointed loosely at Elaina from across the table. "Besides, we already have a GameCube."

"Scott, you could play Madden."

Their amicable discussion was interrupted by Kurt poking the table."

"Please, I want to do something _today_."

"You're about to be doing nothing, alone, if you don't take a chill pill."

He crossed his arms and threw half an irritated pout back at her.

"Okay so, I don't really wanna do a movie. Karaoke might be fun but it's busy and I don't think that's doable right now. Do you have any other ideas?"

"I do not."

* * *

"We didn't come up with shit and it's almost five."

"We can just do nothing."

"That just means I nap, and you read, or do homework, or go bug Scott and Jean."

"It does not have to mean that."

"What do you wanna do?"

Elaina tilted her head to look up at him from her seat on the balcony. He was perched above and leaning on his knees; he was looking back down with bubbling energy.

"Do you want to walk and talk?"

"Walk and talk? About what?"

"Anything."

"Walk where?"

"Anywhere."

"A tree?" She popped her eyebrows up, waiting expectantly on his answer.

"You _want_ to sit in a tree again?"

"Not really actually. How about we just walk? Wherever we end up is where we are."

Kurt mouthed through her sentence and nodded back at her; it was better than nothing and possibly the most he would get from her.

He was soon hopping along next to her between foliage and trees after Elaina fought off the urge to ask for cooler weather from Ororo. September often lent itself to awkward shifts between hot, cold, muggy, chilly, and everything in between. The past few weeks of wind had helped cool off the institute, but it was quickly hitting the final, hottest-feeling heat of summer turning to fall. He waited patiently for her to come to the conclusion that pajamas were fine for both the weather and the date. She eventually relaxed, a playful atmosphere exciting Kurt more than having his faithful companion next to him.

"Did you actually care about your clothes tonight?" He fell behind her a little and she returned with a change to pace. A slow walk would keep them from getting anywhere, and Kurt was determined to make the experience last.

"I kinda did. It's not fair for me to look so grungy for your first official date ever. Wouldn't want you to get any bad ideas about it, ya know?" She punctuated her words with a wink.

"I do not care much what you wear. I'm just happy to have the time with you."

"How flattering. So I've been dying to know, Kurt; who picked the codename? I've been dying to know why we call you 'Nightcrawler.'"

"I did because I want to hear that joke for my lifetime." A chuckle was shared, and comfortable silence overtook them. Kurt slowed the pace even more, literally dragging his feet through the underbrush.

"Are you ever gonna tell us why you chose it?"

"Maybe one day."

A hum came back in response and they found themselves going deeper into woods. Elaina took her turn to slow them down as she began to inspect individual rocks beneath her shoes. When he noticed her fall back, he took time to observe the focused look on her face, eyebrows drawn together as she turned jagged pieces of stone between her fingers. This repeated several times, only altering in rocks and his focus as he viewed her. Occasionally she would offer a prime specimen to him, noting the different shapes or patterns or the tiniest impression of a long-dead organism. When she approached, he would plaster on the same expression, full of interest and expectation, hiding the fact that he had taken the time to note her hair stopping at the bottom of her ribcage, her hips tilting out ever so slightly to make the roundness of her belly just a little more prominent, and the indents on her thighs that he wasn't sure he had even noticed on anyone before.

"Did you used to do this as a kid? Like take a walk with your mom or dad to find fossils?"

"Fossils?"

"Yeah, these guys." She pointed one out that looked like it had been a small snail and he pulled her hand closer to look at it.

"They did not come but I have found them before. What are they called?"

"Fossils."

"How do they get here?"

"Dead stuff a long time ago. Are you one of those guys that don’t believe in evolution?"

"Elaina, as mutants we _are_ evolution." There was a hint of pride and a little snootiness as he placed a hand on his puffed-out chest. "I do not know a lot about _dinosaurier_."

"_Dinosaurs_," She placed extra emphasis on the word to help him commit it to memory. "Are cool. But I'm never gonna see a dinosaur bone, so I'll settle for these guys."

"You want to see dinosaur bones?"

"I think it would be cool to learn about them. Like I don't think our tiny, human brains can comprehend how big a dinosaur would be unless we see one in real life."

"We should go to a museum for our next date."

"Mr. Wagner, our first date isn't even over yet and you're thinking about the second?" She stopped to put her hands on her hips and stare at him accusingly. "Besides, those might be fake. I need like a for-real bone, I wanna see it in the dirt where that bitch died."

"What if the ones in the ground are fake as well?"

"If someone wants to go through that much work to trick me, then I'll let them."

The walk resumed and a different, familiar but scary, silence fell over them. It was Kurt's turn to be withholding the question from the greater good and Elaina was fine letting it simmer. Leaves rustled next to her and she turned to find Kurt kicking his way up a tree. He still did a little work to baby one side but continued to force his way up the tree anyway. His yellow eyes stuck out against the greens and blues they lived in and she could easily pinpoint when he was looking down at her.

"I'm not coming up there."

"Fine. I'll come get you."

He teleported down, reaching instantly for her arm and for a second, questioning how this would play out for him. She glared daggers at him and stepped just out of reach. He leaned forward again, catching the smell of floral shampoo as she swirled around to pace away from him. She faced him again and leaned forward, hands on her knees and declared a game with the look on her face. She took off again with him following closely, bounding off of trunks and circling around her multiple times. It was evident that he chose to keep the game going with wide flanking and slowly resuming after each turn. She slowed to a stop in what seemed to be a clearing; only being revealed as the cliffside when the blue of the sky peeked through the tree line Kurt meandered towards.

When he caught up to her, she was breathing a smidge heavier, awkwardly and obviously pacing her breaths. He breathed in the air and crouched next to the few feet of rock that sloped down to the sharp drop off. He watched her walk past and lay down on the dry stone to stare into the waves below. She caught his gaze and dared him to come join after the feeling of apprehension poked its way into her. He crept forward, moving his hands and feet first, his body following. The awkward crab walk lasted only a few seconds but was just long enough to amuse her. He perched next to her; his tail wrapped as securely as possible up her leg.

"If you lay down, it feels safer."

"I should have said that in the tree."

"Kurt, I'm serious. Lay down."

He stepped back and laid on his stomach, his tail clenching and relaxing as he moved and re-balanced. He scooted closer to her, relaxing more once their shoulders touched and he felt her hip fall into the curve of his waist.

"I don't know why you're stuck on me; I can't save us if we fall. Why are you scared anyway, you hang out in the treetops for fun."

"I haven't experienced this kind of height before."

"Height is height."

"Are you okay?"

She blinked back at him for a few seconds, a puzzled look on her face.

"What?"

"You are moody lately. My mom always asked am I okay when I was moody. I usually was not." He stopped, seemingly reviewing what he said internally. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

His tail pulsed against her, indicative of disbelief.

"You do not have to be."

"I'm okay."

"Is something bothering you?"

She scowled at him for a few seconds and examined his face. Her eyes jumped around and surprisingly, he maintained his attitude and gall. She swallowed and dropped back to watching the ocean. It took a few minutes of silence and the clear expectation that Kurt wanted an answer. He still watched her, studying her and waiting for her to decide if she would reply.

"Why does something have to be bothering me?"

She shifted to rest her chin on crossed arms, calming down but still adamant about wearing annoyance. He copied her movements with the slightest difference; he rested his cheek on his arms, sustaining the attention he was giving her.

"Is it so far off to say that I might just be an asshole?"

"I do not think you are."

"You’ve known me for like a month."

"I do not think I could have had this month without you."

"That's not my problem."

"It is not a problem. I just want to understand you."

"There's _nothing _to understand. Sometimes I'm pissy, and shitty, and rude, and whatever else everyone says about me. That's it. If you can't deal with that or think that you can _fix it_ or it doesn't apply to you, you're wrong."

He flinched ever so slightly at the final part of her mini-rant. She caught the reaction and the energy between them stiffened, clearly indicating that she didn't care and doubled down on her thought process. They sat across from each other for a few minutes; Kurt looking more distraught as acidic words soaked into his porous skull. She eventually snuck a peek at him and slouched more, taking interest in how her fingers felt gliding against each other. Her face lightened, showing more contemplation and sadness.

"More people are gonna join the X-men soon."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you'll have some other options."

He leaned back on his palms and studied her face for the hundredth time since meeting her. The lack of words was more evident as his tail beat against the ground, the only sound and movement between the two that could be seen from afar. Kurt could see her eyes darting around every few seconds and the small steps she took in pushing her cuticles back on her fingers. From her perspective he was just watching her, a hobby he seemed to have taken up a few weeks ago. He looked irritated with his eyebrows drawn slightly together and his eyes unfocused, the frown on his face. Elaina had seen this expression enough to know that it was his way of being deep in thought, but this didn't stop the intruding idea that he was upset at her. After weeks of stunting her own anxiety to make room for him and his nervousness, the feeling of self-produced anxiousness was a little foreign.

"Do you wanna head back?" She pumped oxygen back into the conversation with her final question.

He nodded once back at her with the same contemplative look. The thought of teleporting back and leaving her there to sort it out crossed his mind, but it was thrown out when her fidgeting continued. Her words wouldn't admit it but the feelings stunting her behavior were all too familiar to him. For the first time since coming to the institute, he was starting to know her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is having a nice time with the current predicament of the world!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a car ride and the first day of the WW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but it's here! I really enjoy this chapter, and I've been trying to build more onto their interactions than the things they've been doing so far, while still keeping a theme. LMK if it's working or if ur tired of trees and food.

Willful ignorance of their first "date" let their week leading up to their promised weekend of fun go smoothly. Kurt's patience waned halfway through the week as Elaina got more irritable and Scott pressed more about their relationship status. After two days of Elaina picking fights with both Logan and Ororo, they opted to stagger training days and work with Kurt more than her. The pressure built up in the institute finally popped on Friday when their imminent weekend was minutes away. Walking out of the school, She prattled on about the different things they could possibly get into and Kurt tried his hardest to listen but got lost in specifics too frequently. Jean and Scott wished them a good time before Kurt and Elaina disappeared to find the van parked in the school parking lot. Kurt slid into the middle row and Mia took shotgun. While climbing in, Elaina's shorts rode up to reveal a purple-yellow ring of bruising around her thigh. She believed no one noticed until a gasp came from Kurt.

"Mein Gott, habe ich das getan?!" His voice rose as he reached out to stop her from pulling her shorts back down.

"No, Kurt. It's fine. It's okay. I told you to do it."

They now had the attention of the other two people that shared a wordless conversation of their own. The shorts went back to covering the bruise, but his eyebrows stayed knitted together. Mia's shocked expression stayed as she drew lines between Elaina's face and her thigh.

"You _told_ him to do it?"

"Uhh…yes." Elaina attempted to look anywhere but at her friend while she climbed into the back with Kurt. The van lurched as Oli started driving, throwing her into the seat. They had stashed their bags next to the Xavier Institute gate that morning per Elaina's insistence. When they reached the gate, she jumped out of the sliding door and piled the bags into the back along with blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, and few other bags.

"A little pain with your pleasure isn't that bad." Oli turned to peer back at them with a knowing smirk.

"I'm more shocked that I didn't hear you guys were mixing anything with pleasure in the first place. When did this happen?" Mia asked.

"There's no pleasure. It was a freak incident."

"An incident that you _asked for_?" Oli piped in from the driver's seat, breaking his focus as he turned onto the highway.

"Yeah." she squeaked out. Kurt turned to pull a book from his bag, pausing momentarily to convey all the suspicions about the conversation. She could practically hear him asking if this was smart.

"Okay, so explain this incident. Right now, you seem like a battered wife." Mia's tone shifted downwards as the prospect of a budding relationship dwindled.

"So, okay, so Kurt and I. We were playing with a belt, right?" She scooched to the edge of the seat, hands mimicking a snapping motion. Kurt side-eyed her again, suspicious of her and of where she could possibly be going with this.

"Uh huh, playing with a belt. Sure. And you asked him to whip you with it," Oli interrupted, adding an eyeroll that no one else could see.

"Uh, _no._ I bet Kurt that he could snap it as hard as he could, and it still wouldn't hurt."

"And it just happened to be your thigh and not somewhere a little more accessible?"

"What if her thigh _was_ accessible?" Mia took the reins of the mockery from Oli with ease. "Kurt, my man. Is this true? Or was the belt already hanging out around her thigh?"

Elaina folded her arms and waited on his answer. She was almost 100% sure he would support her claims until a wicked smile spread across his face.

"I do not know why she is lying. Finding pleasure in pain is nothing to be ashamed of." He didn't need to look up from his book to know she might implode.

The van erupted into oohs and Mia turned to look back at them.

"She's so red! You guys totally bumped some uglies. How was it? I've never been bruised before." She giggled out her last sentence and gave Kurt a wink.

"Hold on, don't European guys have weird dicks or something?" Oli popped in again, breaking his words as they took an exit.

"Oli, don't call Kurt's dick weird. It's probably normal," Mia paused and turned again, "but I've also heard that."

"What makes it weird?"

The voices jumped around the van, barely reaching the mutants in the backseat as they let the conversation move about them. Kurt smirked at her as more questions were directed at them. She gave in to the lie and answered with mostly shrugs and "I don't know" despite the growing curiosity of the rest of the group. It eventually moved on as no conclusive information was given out and they jumped into other topics.

Less than half an hour into the drive, Kurt noticed her fidgeting more and pulled a blanket from the back of the van. She lit up and turned to face him, tucking her toes under his leg as he covered her with the quilt. Once she was comfortable, he turned ever so slightly towards her and rested his elbow on her bent knees, returning to his book. She wiggled under his leg and offered an apologetic smile. He replied with a smirk, this one much warmer but not devoid of mischief. She stuttered with a question halfway to her lips as she felt his tail coil loosely around her leg, spade squirming between her thigh and her stomach. She retrieved a pillow and leaned back against the cushioned plastic of the armrest, tugging the blanket over her arms. The spade rested comfortably against her stomach until she jostled the fur in the wrong direction. A shiver fled from tail tip to the back of his neck, and he glanced at her, clenching and unclenching his jaw. Her grin grew wider before being interrupted by the spade twitching ever so slightly against her again. She took it, this time feeling it push and pull in an attempt to escape. She glimpsed at him, noting the clenching and the sudden hitch in his breath, and she smoothed the fur back upwards. He let the breath go and turned a page as she found petting the fur in the direction it laid was somewhat soothing.

Kurt kept his attention on her shenanigans, eventually accepting that he did deserve it with the stunt he pulled earlier. It wasn't exactly torture; it was blissful yet so incomplete. She was always so intuitive, which he valued in her, but it was definitely coming back to haunt him. He could feel the brush of her fingers against his fur, ending as she reached the edges of the spade where two directions crashed into a sensitive and responsive peak. Each time she tickled there, he had to resist pulling away. He spent more time reading paragraphs over and over because of the distraction, but ultimately gave up when he noticed how inescapable this was. She had worked his spade upwards over time to where it sat now, just below her chin. This resulted in the trunk of his tail laying against her chest and occasionally between parts of her that he thought would've been off-bounds even for him. Hands, feet, legs, and arms were fine; she happily let him bend her fingers as she had done to him a few days before. It was a combination of fear and respect that kept him from pushing too far into new territory. It became impossible to ignore when her eyes began drifting shut and she curled inwards to conserve her body heat. It just so happened that Kurt's tail was a supporting member of this plot twist and it ended up in the middle of _everything_. It wasn't a horrible situation to be in, but it would make it a little hard to focus on things other than the warmth of her. Her breathing evened out and locked him in for an interesting ride.

* * *

The ride was seemingly uneventful; Kurt reading and occasionally offering a comment on Mia and Oli's discussion. Elaina woke up at the first rest stop a few hours in when Kurt pulled his tail from her grasp. The other two had already gone to relieve themselves and Kurt took the spare minutes to swing his tail about and complain of stiffness. The two slid out and stretched in the setting September sun that seemed to bring out an even calmer atmosphere. This was not in line with the teens that were returning with food.

"Holy shit, you're finally _awake_." Mia called out to Elaina as she slung fast food bags onto her arms. "Oli's dropping a deuce, he'll be out soon."

"What's that?"

"It's hot and ready, _like me._"

"Did you tell the guy that? Did he get you a discount?" Elaina dipped her voice in sarcasm as well as her hand into the bag. "That's not their slogan anyway."

"You are never this grumpy when I wake you up." Kurt eyeballed the bag as well but kept his hands in his pockets.

"Well, maybe my method is off. Is there a different _kind_ of eating that she wakes up to from you?" Mia sucked in her lips and gave him a once over to drive the point home. His holo-projected eyes rolled, and he began to speak only to be interrupted by Oli striding up next to them.

"What's that smell?"

"McDon-"

"Ah, nope. It smells like…" He sniffed around the air and each person, including himself, until he pointed his finger to the air. "Oh, it smells like felony possession of marijuana. Let's turn this thing into the mystery machine."

He climbed into the back of the van with Mia when Elaina felt anxiety tickle the back of her mind.

"Uh, Kurt's never smoked so we might just go inside for a few minutes. You guys can smoke, and we'll be back out?" She raised eyebrows at Kurt, receiving an appreciative nod. Oli and Mia both shrugged while Oli was digging through bags to find a grinder.

"You can just take your food, and go eat if you want. Meet back here in like 20 minutes?" Mia offered, considering the space they might want but not get for the rest of the trip.

Elaina shot finger guns at her, mouthed a thanks as she took a bag, and strode off with Kurt in tow. Once they got out of eyesight, Kurt teleported them close to a tree line where they sat in the tall grass.

"How far are we from being done driving?"

"What?" Elaina chewed on the question along with some fries. "Oh! We've still got like two hours depending on traffic. We'll get there before 10 probably."

"Alright then."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep so fast. And didn't wake up until ten minutes ago." She swatted at some bugs around her in between words. "I didn't expect to sleep so hard."

"It is okay, you kept at least one of my limbs warm."

"Are you gonna be okay camping tonight?"

"We have a tent, ja? We won't be stuck in the van."

"Well, yeah but if you want to sleep alone in the tent, you can. You just have to tell me."

He sighed as he threw his head back.

"I _was_ hoping to make a move tonight, but if you want me to brave a tent in the wilderness, _all alone_, I will. For you."

She swatted at his shoulder and explained that a monstrosity of a bug was crawling on him. He smirked back at her and continued eating. He swallowed and watched her eat for a few seconds. She was more interested in examining every inch of the tree line, as if she were making a map in her head. She was absently shoving a nugget into her mouth when she caught him.

"What are you lookin' at?" She spoke between bites, now investigating her clothes to make sure he wasn't looking at an uninvited micro-bitch with wings.

"Nothing, just watching you. Thinking."

"Well stop, we've got to go back before we're stranded in Eastern Pennsylvania."

"We could never be stranded; I am a teleporter."

She rolled her eyes back at him as he gathered up garbage from their dinner. As they stood up, a traveling salesman the size of a nickel that deals in smelling bad clung onto Elaina's hair. She squealed loudly and flailed through the field, stirring up more bugs that jumped, clung, fled, chirped, and sped off for their lives. Kurt's mouth dropped at the ordeal, not having any training whatsoever in handling this type of situation. He recollected himself and teleported her back to where they departed, behind the rest stop. She didn't register the teleport, only the bugs that could have possibly been on her. She flung out into the parking lot, still yelling and patting at her body. Oli and Mia both pushed open the van door and watched the spectacle. Kurt recalled some type of instruction he remembered Scott telling him.

"Stop, drop, and roll!"

"Kurt! That's for if you're on fire!"

He came up behind her and stopped the bouncing mess that she was by gripping her shoulders. Mia and Oli had finally recognized that there was a problem and came out to help. Tears streamed down her face as she plucked at her hair, and shook her legs in front of the group. They started to pull off various bugs, not limited to grasshoppers, beetles, and stink bugs. Once they were all off and the tickling was only phantom itches. She had yet to stop freaking out about the situation when Kurt caught her face and offered a gentle "it's okay." She smiled weakly behind the tears and started wiping them away. Kurt backed away and they reformed into a square of people.

"How many bugs were there?" Her voice was just a tinge shaky, mostly repressed by the undying need to be composed again.

"Like 9." Oli nodded and smiled back at her, knowing how small the number was compared to her level 100 response.

"How was your bowl?"

"I would _kill_ for a bowl of spaghetti right now." Oli swayed in his spot and nodded slowly with his response.

"Ah, it was good."

"Can he drive like that?" Kurt cringed ever so slightly at him and looked to Elaina.

"Absolutely not, we'd get pulled over for going 10mph. Do you know how to drive?"

"I'm only 15."

"I know how old you are; do you know how to drive?"

"Well, ja. I was taught."

"Then cowboy up bud. Let's see those famous German car driving skills."

Elaina and Kurt fist-bumped and climbed into the front seats while Oli and Mia took up the second row.

"Don't they, like, drive on the wrong side in Germany?" Mia asked, slumped into Elaina's blanket.

"Nein, that is the United Kingdom." Kurt answered her as the car turned over and lurched out of the parking lot.

"Do you miss it?" Mia's tone softened and she waited to see if his expression matched his words. Instead of turning solemn, he showed confusion.

"The United Kingdom?"

"No, Germany. You've only been here for a little bit. Are you home sick yet?"

Kurt side-eyed Elaina, who waited expectantly for his response. She wasn't going to save him this time. He sighed for the millionth time in his life and let his energy drop.

"I was homeschooled. My parents are older; we lived in a small town. You couldn't even see the road from my house it was so deep into the woods. I was taught to enjoy life, work hard and take it easy when it was appropriate. Always listen to the little things the Earth is telling you. God speaks to you through the birds, and the wind, and the leaves, and the little fish in the streams." He took a deep breath and continued. "New York is so big. _America_ is so big. You have tall buildings, and too much concrete, and _So. Many_ people. It feels so overwhelming at times. I understand why churches are so huge and detailed here: they need to be because all of God's work has been replaced by humans and it's the only way to get back to him." He paused for a few seconds, contemplating on what he wanted to say next. "And I'm required to do high school, which is bogus."

"I didn't know you were so religious, Kurt. Out of all the things I expected you to miss, I didn't think you would say a connection to God." Mia smiled warmly at him in attempt to lift his spirits.

"I know it isn't very popular now, but I still feel like we’re all here for a reason."

"Tell that to all the starving kids in Africa." Oli scoffed back at Kurt.

"Hey now. Starvation wouldn't be a thing if resources were properly allocated." Mia jumped in. "Besides, there's some truth in fiction. Why couldn't there be a higher being that brought forth this world."

"Science will explain it all at some point." Oli crossed his arms as he responded to Mia.

"Okay but like, there's more to God than creation, right Kurt?"

"Ja, there's a lot involved. It's not just explaining what happened, He's a source, but also an outlet."

"In English, please." Oli leaned his head back.

"He keeps us going. He calms our fears. Uhh…He helps keep us whole."

"So does the justice system."

"Does it?" Mia crinkled her nose at Oli's suggestion. "You good, El? You've been really quiet."

"You know. I don't think I'm going to get into Heaven."

"Why's that?" Kurt asked as he adjusted his hands on the steering wheel.

"God won't let me into Heaven because I am his reckoning."

"How meaningful, it's like you're the main character in someone's fantasy. Maybe one day, science will prove a god exists." Oli waved his hand nonchalantly as he spoke.

"Science can't even map the ocean floor yet, _Oli_. Let Kurt have his security blanket and let Elaina have her angst." Mia scolded.

"Let _me_ have my proven facts!"

"If you want to get technical, it's all theory anyway. Everything science proves is theory. Just because it's been proven right 100 times doesn’t mean that tomorrow it could be wrong." Elaina quipped. "Like we thought for a really long time that atoms were made up of electrons and protons, but then one day someone was like, 'Hey this has a fucking neutron in it' and then we had to change atomic theory. A big part of science is preparing for it to be wrong, but still respecting the truth you think you have."

"So there. How about that, Oli?" Mia gave him a pointed look and wrapped herself in the blanket left on the backseat. She smoothed it out a little bit until she picked up some of Kurt's shed fur. "Hey, why is there blue hair all over this blanket, El."

Both kids in the front seat tensed as Mia questioned them.

"Uhhhh, it must be from Hopper."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at her but continued to focus on the road.

"Who's Hopper?" Oli poked his head forward and rested it on Kurt's seat.

"Hopper is my stuffed…dog. I sleep with him."

"I thought for sure you were gonna say rabbit. Why'd you name a dog Hopper?"

"I was like 8, okay? It made sense."

"Were you not a very smart 8-year-old?" Kurt chuckled a little as he began to believe Elaina's story, completely forgetting that she was essentially saving his tail.

"I'd rather not be very smart at 8 than at _15_, Kurt." She raised her eyebrows at him to remind him of the importance of her lie. He cleared his throat and looked back down to the dashboard

"Hey, Kurt, man, the speed limit is like not that much, bro." Oli pointed to the speedometer and slapped at his shoulder.

"Mein Gott! Ich ha-I forgot."

"Please don't get us pulled over, I'm too gone to be questioned." Mia snuggled deeper into Elaina's blanket, still picking fur from it as she explained her dilemma.

"What would happen if we got pulled over?" Kurt looked to Elaina expecting her to answer honestly.

"Hey, Oli, how much weed is left?"

"I don't know, like a little more than an ounce."

"So, like jailtime and a big fine. It'll be okay." She shrugged at Kurt and looked back out the windshield of the car as it slowed down more and jumped into the slow lane. "We're not gonna get pulled over, people here can't drive anyway."

"I would rather not chance it." Kurt sighed out.

* * *

"Okay, so you want to take this right."

"That is a dirt road."

"It's gravel!"

"Elaina, are you sure?"

"Kurt, we're going backwoods camping, okay? You gotta take some dirt roads to get to the good spots."

Kurt nodded and turned down the narrow road that looked more like the driveway to his home in Germany.

"Do they go camping in Germany?" Mia popped forward, reinvigorated as they neared their destination.

"Of course. My parents and I used to walk through the woods to get to a pond. We would fish and eat and sleep under the stars. It was great." Kurt sighed again, revisiting his home and his parents in memory. He was interrupted in his thoughts by Oli.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed it because the van gets way too hot to sleep in."

"We could just open the doors." Mia elbowed him as she gave her common sense solution.

"Okay, _Mia_, then we don't get any _privacy_."

"Fine by me."

Oli huffed at her and turned to look back out at the road. Awkward silence swamped the van, much like the September humidity that they would be trying to escape from in a few hours. They bumped into each other as the van lumbered down shallow hills and past hidden driveways. Elaina directed Kurt to turn down what looked like even less of a road, made by tire treads and the yielding vegetation. They traveled this path for a few minutes before coming up to a campsite that had two campers creating a barrier at the crest of the hillside. Between them was a very well used spot for fires, old, patched porch swings, and a rusted swing set. The forest ground had eroded into a clearing covered in a layer of crunchy shale. Kurt delicately parked the van and watched as everyone jumped out to stretch and breathe in the air. The sun had just begun to set, bathing them in orange light that filtered through the green leaves. The temperature was cooling off a bit, but it only made the air muggy and sticky. Kurt jumped when Elaina pounced on the window with both hands splayed against the glass. Her forehead and nose squished against it as well. Her face had a clear message: it was time for shenanigans and misbehavior. When she pulled away, her face had replaced the dirt and moisture with oil spots that marked her presence. She opened the door and was ready to pull him out when the low-energy Elf stopped her.

"You good?"

"Yeah."

"Kurt, you could have sighed, and it would have had the same convincing power." She tapped her chin and looked around them. "Let me get out the tent and shit, and then we can take a walk. Yeah?"

He nodded twice at her, not looking up from the ground he had focused on. The doors to the van swung open and Mia joined Elaina on the rear bumper.

"Hey, he seems pretty down. Why don't you go have a little pleasure, maybe a little pain, and we'll unload the stuff, okay?"

They nodded at each other, one in thanks, and one in support. Elaina creeped away from the van and into the camper while Kurt leaned back in the car, hands draped loosely between his legs. Elaina popped up again, this time holding two very small plastic cups, a bottle of soda, and a glass bottle with no label. She motioned for him to follow, not saying much of anything to get him motivated. They walked for a few minutes, the campsite now barely visible except for the occasional bright bag or blanket. She walked for a few more feet, circling and looking to the skies.

"Alright, this one looks good."

"What looks good?"

"This tree. Beam me up, Kurtty."

He looked upwards at the tree she was standing under, and back down to her to confirm her wants. He didn't particularly want to do much of anything, much less have her cling to his body in all the wrong ways. It was nice that she looked to him for protection, but it also felt wrong to draw her in when he was starting to want to draw out a nice long life with her. He debated the options he had and looked back to her. The smile on her face was inviting, comforting to his discouraged spirit. If she had been placed there only for want, it was working. He looked back up to the tree and selected a sturdy looking branch, the highest he thought would support their combined weight. He reached out and extended his hand as well as an accepting, thankful, appeasing smile. They popped to the top and settled down around the branch, half a meter between them. Elaina's back leaned against the tree as Kurt's tail wrapped securely around Elaina's ankle as their only form of physical contact. She looked to him and tilted her head just a little, concern and knowing written all over her face.

"You still feeling blah?"

He shrugged in response and looked at the bottle she had in her hands.

"This is for later. Right now, I want you to observe."

"And what exactly and I observing?"

"All of it."

"You?"

"_All_ of it." She took a deep breath and encouraged Kurt to do the same. After he did, she relaxed and let reflective calm take over her body. "Being out here after what you said today feels…different. I feel like I'm noticing it more. I get what you mean about New York. We don't have nearly as much green in Bayville. And we lived in a wooded area!" She chuckled a little and nodded with excitement against his admiring expression. "Everything is so golden. All of the leaves are moving and pushing against each other, and the trees, and the wind. It's so much friction and energy. The sun is making shit warm and beautiful. It's all so much to take in. Overwhelming in a different sense."

"I guess it would matter more to you, with your powers and all."

"I guess." She laughed a little and looked up to Kurt, the yellow light reflecting on the blue of her eyes, brightening the color. "I almost forgot we have powers. It's so weird to just not use them."

He looked downward and hmm'd at her.

"I guess that's not a thing for you, is it? You don't get to turn off your powers."

"I wonder a lot what my life would have looked like without my mutations. All of them, not just the fur and the tail and the…" He motioned to himself with one hand, "the whole thing. I forget sometimes that I look different. That I am not normal."

"You're normal to me." She leaned forward onto her palms and onto the branch. "Sometimes, when I see you walking down the hallway in school, I almost don't recognize you. If it weren't for your energy and your voice, I don't think I'd even be able to pick you out of a crowd. The Kurt I recognize is blue, and fuzzy, and so…resilient. The Kurt I don't recognize is scared and trying so desperately to just live like a human. They're not different though, are they?"

He had started to stare at the tree bark below them as he listened and absorbed her words and their meanings. He looked up at her once and then back down to the tree, sniffling once.

"You know, there's a lot of life in Bayville. It might be stressful, but I think once you start to settle, you'll find your way again. It's just rough now, that's all." She gave him the biggest grin she could manage and reached up, holding the unmarked bottle next to her head. "And it's about to get better!"

"What is that?" Kurt reached out and took the bottle, inspecting the bottle, the liquid's color and thickness, and finally the scent. He smelled it lightly, recognizing the whisky, but something was different about it.

"It's homemade. Wanna do a shot?"

"A shot of whisky? Isn't that illegal to the Scottish?"

"They aren't here, and they didn't make it." She poured a guesstimation of a shot into their two cups and unscrewed the lid on the soda. "I have no idea how it's gonna go down, so be prepared for the worst with a chaser of Sprite."

They clinked their cups together and downed the liquor, the burn coming a few seconds after the swallow. Kurt took a large gulp of soda and scrunched his face a little at the leftover burn. Elaina drew her eyebrows together but shook off the feeling once it settled in her belly.

"I love how warm it gets in the stomach."

"That's a little weird."

"Oh, shut up."

She followed this by taking a swig of the drink and passing it to Kurt. They shared the bottle for a little bit, taking in the fading sunlight and the intruding giggles that came with alcohol. After sharing a few between them, Kurt was considerably more intoxicated than Elaina, the former not having stretched his drinking muscles in a few months. He was a little unsteady on the branch as he wiggled closer to her body, sliding his legs under hers and curling into her chest. He did so wordlessly, and she readily accepted his content and amused self. He stuttered only slightly before giving up and reaching for her hand. He tried to lace their fingers together, deterred by how uncomfortable it looked for her. He dropped it in favor of taking another mouthful of whisky that was in the other hand.

"How you feeling? Good?"

He hummed back and realized a very important aspect of their situation. He had to get them down.

"Uh…let me teleport us down now, ja? No drunk driving probably extends to no drunk teleporting."

She nodded and gathered up their precious cargo. They teleported to the ground, more incapacitated by the 'port than usual. Elaina hunched over a little to keep herself together while Kurt started taking bigger drinks as it became less of a problem. They started walking back together, almost successfully finishing the bottle by the time they reached the campground again. They followed their noses and the smell of skunky weed to the rest of their companions on wobbly legs that threatened to topple them.

"Hey~, it's the best gang ever. And they look a little smashed." Mia called out to them in her sing-song voice. Elaina walked over and presented her with a kiss on the forehead. Kurt followed suit and left a smooch on her forehead. "I thought we weren't getting that smashed tonight?"

"We weren't but Kurt's there already. I just won't let him drink anymore."

"Well, isn't he friendly? I thought German people were like shut-ins." The facilitator of their weekend had finally presented himself. He was middle-aged, with greying hair and smile lines around his face, and wore only blue jeans, preferring to singe his belly hair on the fire he had built. His voice was a little hoarse when he spoke, giving him the air of a grandfather without all the years of wisdom.

Kurt squinted at him, trying to recall if he had met him before. Elaina tried to introduce him but it slipped through the cracks as his brain stuttered on his previous thoughts.

"What is he called?" Kurt tried to point to the guy but found that his arm was being tugged down by Elaina as she sat down on one of the swings around the fire. The slur in his voice was evident, nearly impossible to miss.

"His name is Louis."

"Who?"

"Oh my god."

She rubbed her temples as it donned on her how much Kurt had had to drink.

"And you're sleeping with him." Oli gave her a pointed look and drank from his own bottle.

"You're sleeping with Louis?" Kurt questioned her, his voice rising with surprise.

"No, Kurt. I'm sleeping with you in a tent."

"You're sleeping with _me_? Elaina, I am sorry. But I am too drunk to make such decisions."

"No, Kurt." She pushed her hair back as she tried to compose herself. She took another swig from their almost spent bottle and moved it away from Kurt. "We are going to actually sleep. In the tent."

"Ooh, alright. I can manage that." He nodded and drank from the soda bottle he had acquired somewhere on the ground. The sound of gagging followed, along with Kurt jumping up and speed-walking away from the group. Elaina trailed him, hair elastic coming off her wrist in preparation. They spent a few minutes away from the group while Kurt figured himself out. Back at the fire, Louis had burst out laughing despite Mia and Oli looking disgusted themselves.

"Poor kid. Drinking from an old spit bottle doesn't sit right with anyone." He laughed again, this time ending it with a cough, returning to his own drink. "Who knows how long that's been there. Poor guy."

Kurt slowly lowered himself onto the swing, concentration going to keeping his nausea at bay. His hair had been pulled back as well as it could. Half of it strung down around his neck, barely damp from sweat and humidity.

"How do you feel now?" Elaina brushed loose hair from his forehead and inspected his face.

"Drunk." He slurred his words at her, partially from the sickness, partially from the inebriation. For a few seconds they all sat, abandoning their sense of sight as it was too dark to see much. Sound took over for them. The crackle in the fire, leaves brushing against each other, and the late bird calling in the night. A loud call came out, starting low, rising suddenly, trilling upwards, and ending concisely. Kurt, who had let his head fall back, shot up despite any of his body's complaints.

"Was ist das?"

"That's a whip-poor-will. It's a little bird with a cute little song."

"He sounds happy." Kurt concluded, leaning his head back again.

"He's trying to fuck." Oli chimed in, a grin on his face.

"Who ain't?" Louis fell into another laughing fit at his own joke while the teens looked on in disgust once again.

They fell into silence again, this time a little bit more aware of the birds that called in the night. After an hour had passed, Kurt sat up and announced that bedtime was drawing near. They all agreed, Elaina standing to assemble the tent that laid on the ground.

"That's gonna be really hard in the dark; you made a mistake, kiddo. Let me know if you need help." Louis left them without a goodnight, those parting words being sufficient for him.

Elaina smiled at Kurt as he rubbed his eyes in the moonlight. Oli and Mia passed them both on their way to the van.

"Yeah, goodnight guys. Let Louis know if you need help." Oli winked at them both, leaving them to their own dealings.

Elaina's smiled got bigger as it donned on Kurt that he _could_ see in the dark. He started helping with the tent, and after a little bit of struggle, they had their own sleeping quarters for the night. Elaina dragged all of their possessions into the small tent, preparing some form of arrangement. Kurt had spent a few minutes finding a decent spot to relieve himself and take in the cool air before he would be trapped in nylon and fabric for the night. Upon his return, Elaina had already gotten comfortable in her sleeping bag, with Kurt's laid out next to hers.

"How you feeling?"

"Better. I think I needed that puke."

"I'd say so. How are you feeling though? Like emotionally?"

"I feel better. Your pep talk helped a lot."

"I'm glad."

"I am still thinking about some things. They worry me a little bit, but I think it'll be okay."

"Like what?"

"The X-Men and stuff."

Elaina looked out through the vented sides of the tent to look for lights or movement from their traveling companions. Upon finding nothing, she rolled to Kurt and lowered her voice.

"What about it?"

"Well, we're supposed to be learning to control our powers, ja? We are learning to help people with our powers."

"Yeah."

"But then most of our training is how to perform take-downs, find weak spots, organize and carry out plans."

"Mhmm."

"So, we have to think: what are we really being prepared _for_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a clear plan for the next chapter, so I should be able to finish that chapter by this time next week.

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up breaking this work up more, the first time I posted, the first chapter was like what 27k? No. We're working smaller and more manageable now. What I had written is broken up into the first 7ish chapters that I will be posting weekly.


End file.
